


Eye of the Storm

by tag0



Series: Dreams, Memories, and Truths [5]
Category: Earth: Final Conflict
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Sandoval/Liam father/son Story, Season/Series 03, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2002-08-26
Updated: 2009-07-07
Packaged: 2017-12-24 13:25:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 39,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/940504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tag0/pseuds/tag0
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Liam and Sandoval are on vacation, getting to know each other better; but events in the real world aren't slowing down....</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wednesday, Week 1

**Author's Note:**

> Earth: Final Conflict is copyright © Tribune Entertainment and Roddenberry/Kirschner. No infringement of that copyright is intended by this story.
> 
> Author's Note: Work In Progress. I decided to start posting this here because it looks like so many people here are interested....

It was a good thing that he'd started packing as soon as he got home from the Embassy, Liam reflected, as he closed his global - having just finished leaving timed messages for Augur and Renee - and tossed it into his duffle bag, on top of his clothes. Sandoval had called an hour ago to say that he was finished on the mothership and so they'd be able to leave several hours earlier than originally planned.

_Well, I'm about as ready as I'm ever going to be,_ Liam thought, as he tugged irritably at the duffle's zipper. It was so awkward, trying to do everything using only one hand, especially when it was his left one.... 

Finally managing to get it closed, he picked it up and walked out of his bedroom. 

Looking around the small main room, Liam nodded in satisfaction. He'd taken his few plants down to the Café already; the girls and Augur would take care of them until he got back. He'd already packed the books he intended to bring with him in his duffle, along with a few changes of clothes and his painkillers. So he had everything he was going to need. 

But.... 

Moved by some impulse he wasn't sure he understood, Liam walked over to the bookcase where he kept his parents' favourite books and took down the Taelon puzzle Augur had given him. Unzipping the duffle, he slipped it in, and then tugged the zipper closed again before depositing the bag on the floor. 

Done. 

_And just in time,_ he thought, as there was a knock at his door. Picking the duffle back up again, he opened the door and gave Sandoval a hesitant smile. It was... strange, seeing his father standing there. Not something he'd thought was ever likely to happen. 

"The car is parked just downstairs," Sandoval said. "You're all packed?" 

Liam nodded silently, swallowing to moisten his suddenly dry throat. He wasn't entirely sure how to behave with Sandoval, now that the exhilaration from this morning had had a chance to fade. He'd never had the chance to interact with any of his parents _as_ his parents before, not really. The time in the psychokinetic dimension with Ha'gel didn't count - he still wasn't certain whether or not it had really been his Kimeran father - not to mention the fact that the reality of the entire experience had been highly questionable. And his mother had only remembered - thanks to him Sharing with her - for a minute or two before she had died. 

Sandoval seemed to understand Liam's uncertainty, however, because he simply started toward the stairs. 

Closing his door behind him, Liam locked it, and then followed his father down the stairs and to the car. Still in silence, he put his duffle in the trunk - next to Sandoval's two small suitcases - and then got into the front passenger seat. 

"We're going to have to stop along the way to pick up some food," Sandoval said, as he got the car started. "The cabin's in the middle of nowhere, which makes it an excellent safehouse; but it means that to go shopping, we've got to drive for about half an hour." 

"Where exactly is it?" Liam asked curiously. All his father had said earlier was that it was about a three-hour drive away from Washington. 

"Just outside of Shenandoah National Park," Sandoval replied, his eyes on the road. 

"That's more than a three-hour drive," Liam pointed out, not knowing what else to say. 

"A bit more," Sandoval agreed. "It depends on the traffic. That's part of the reason we're leaving now - to try to avoid all the rush-hour traffic around the city. 

"Did you speak to Dr. Park?" he added after a moment. 

Liam nodded. "She gave me some more painkillers, just in case," he replied. "And ordered me to call her if anything happens." 

An uncomfortable silence took hold in the car as Sandoval headed it toward the interstate. Liam occupied himself by looking at the window and trying to figure out what to say to his father to get rid of the uncertainty he felt. 

"Dr. Park knows, doesn't she," Sandoval said suddenly, breaking the silence. 

Liam hesitated, looking at Sandoval out of the corner of his eye. 

He wasn't entirely sure how to handle this. It was obvious from the way his father had phrased it that Sandoval was fairly certain that Dr. Park _did_ know... but discussing it could lead to the little matter of the Resistance, and Liam still hadn't decided how to handle telling Sandoval about that. 

"Liam?" 

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Liam nodded. "Yes. She knows." _Should I...? No, save it for later. When I have to tell him about the Resistance._

There was no doubt in Liam's mind that the matter of the Resistance _was_ going to come up sooner or later - it was inevitable. His entire life had been bound up with the Resistance, from the moment Ha'gel had chosen to meet his mother at St. Michael's in the hopes that an Implant would be able to handle a Joining. So yes, it would come up. Liam could only hope that by the time it did, he'd have an idea about how to handle it. 

"That's what I thought," his father said calmly, and the silence returned. 

Liam returned his attention to the view from the window, and his eyes slowly started to close. Within half an hour after they had left his apartment, Liam was sound asleep. 

  


Sandoval glanced over at the passenger seat as he turned into the parking lot of the mall. Liam was sound asleep - had been since before they'd actually left DC. 

Of course, it wasn't really all that surprising, considering everything that had happened yesterday. 

As soon as Sandoval had arrived on the mothership this morning - before Zo'or had summoned him to the bridge to discuss his vacation - Lt. Hartland had informed him of how Liam had fallen asleep in the middle of the afternoon yesterday. 

After his meeting with Colonel Ahmid, Sandoval had done some digging into the records from the hybrid program, and had discovered that - at least in the case of Belle and Steven Hartley - the use of their shaqarava tended to drain them in proportion to the amount of energy directed through the organs. And Liam had expended a great deal of energy yesterday in his efforts to protect them both from the bomb's blast. 

Parking the car right by the entrance to the mall - thankfully, it was still early afternoon, and so the mall wasn't that busy - he reached over, careful not to jar Liam's injured shoulder, and locked the passenger side door before getting out. 

Leaving his son in the car - he didn't really want to wake Liam up until they reached the cabin, especially since he suspected that Liam needed all the rest he could get - Sandoval headed into the supermarket. 

As he went through the aisles, picking up enough food to last the two of them about a week - they could get some more from the nearby town when they ran out - Sandoval thought about how he was going to deal with the situation he found himself in. 

He hadn't missed Liam's reluctance to confirm the fact that Dr. Park knew the truth about his heritage. That suggested that there was more going on with the good doctor than he had realized. Quite likely she had ties to the Resistance as well. 

And that, Sandoval knew, was going to be a difficult subject to discuss with Liam. The best way to go about doing so would probably be for him to lay some of his own cards on the table first, let Liam know about the elite and what he was doing with them. He definitely couldn't start out by saying that he knew that Liam was in the Resistance, not after the fear Liam had obviously felt during their discussion this morning. 

There were so many secrets.... 

Pushing the grocery cart up to the cashier, Sandoval waited patiently as everything was rung through, ignoring the whispers of recognition from around him. 

Once everything was bagged, he paid the cashier and headed back out to the parking lot. It didn't take him too long to get everything packed in the trunk of the car; once that was done, he unlocked the driver's door and got in. 

Sandoval had just started the car when Liam stirred, opening his eyes and blinking dazedly. 

"Sandoval?" he mumbled. "We there yet?" 

"No, not yet," Sandoval replied patiently. "I just stopped to pick up groceries. It'll be another couple of hours before we arrive. Go back to sleep." 

Liam studied him for another moment or two, his eyes half-open, and then leaned back in the seat and closed them. Within minutes, he was fast asleep again. 

Sandoval returned his attention to the road with a sigh, pushing the slight pang he'd felt when Liam had called him 'Sandoval' out of his mind. 

* * *

The elevator door opened and Augur stepped back into his sanctuary. 

He'd headed over to Liam's to see if the kid was there, but the door had been locked and there had been no one home. He'd even tried calling the kid again, but he kept getting the message saying that Major Kincaid wasn't taking any calls at the moment. He was beginning to get quite concerned; yeah, the kid had survived the bombing of the Embassy, and Sandoval and the Volunteers had captured McKenna - but he hadn't heard _anything_ directly from Liam since Friday, when he'd called to give the kid McKenna's identity and information. 

"Augur!" Holo-Lorna called, as he came down the steps. 

"What is it?" he grumbled. He _needed_ to reach Liam... they had to talk about Special Agent Patterson's discovery of the Dark Knight files. 

"I have a message for you, from Major Kincaid," the holo replied. 

Augur gaped at her. Two days he'd spent trying to get in touch with Liam, and the kid had called when he wasn't here?! 

"Play it," he ordered. 

The screen in front of him flickered on, revealing Liam's face. The kid looked exhausted - there were dark shadows under his eyes, and his hair had the rumpled appearance that meant he'd been too tired to worry about it - but there was a hint of excitement in his eyes that didn't fit with his appearance. 

"Augur, I'm sorry I didn't call you earlier, but I've been really busy since yesterday morning. I just got your message. 

"I assume you've heard about both the bomb and McKenna's capture. What you probably _haven't_ heard is that Dr. Park - and Da'an - have put me on two weeks of medical leave. I've gotten strict orders not to do any work, whether duty or Resistance related. 

"As a result, I'm heading out of town for the two weeks; I'll be back the Thursday after next. I'm going to be incommunicado unless there's some sort of emergency - and by 'emergency', I mean a _real_ emergency. 

"While I'm gone, Renee's in charge; I've already called her to let her know. However... I'm going to need you to keep an eye on her for me. I want the Resistance to keep a low profile for the moment; Sandoval's also on vacation, and Zo'or's brought in Colonel Ahmid, Si'al's Protector, to take Sandoval's position temporarily. We can guess how Sandoval would react if the Resistance were to do anything major, but we don't have any clue about Ahmid. So... just make sure that Renee doesn't try to pull anything, okay? 

"Also... I've got a feeling that the vaile wasn't the only little project that Doors and Renee have been hiding from us. If possible, I'd appreciate it if you could do some poking around and see if you can find anything else. Doors told Sandoval that the vaile was originally a project in fashion design; check out some of the other supposedly 'low-priority' projects that DI has going. I can't do my job properly if I have no idea what's going on. 

"Oh, and I left my plants in the Café - can you and the girls see that they get watered? 

"Thanks, Augur. I'll see you in two weeks' time. Bye." 

With that, Liam's image vanished. 

"Oh, great," Augur muttered sourly as he slumped down into his chair. "Thanks a lot, Liam. Give me the easy stuff, why don't you...." 

With a sigh, he turned back to Holo-Lorna. "Are there any other messages?" 

"Yes," the holo told him. "Renee Palmer called. She wants to see you as soon as possible." 

"Great, just great," Augur said again. "It never rains, but it pours." Standing up, he headed back over to the elevator. "I'll be back soon," he said, and punched the button to take him back up to the church. 

* * *

Renee looked up as the door to her office opened and Augur walked in. "You wanted to see me?" the hacker asked, appropriating a chair and sitting down. 

"What do you know about Liam's little 'vacation'?" Renee demanded. 

It had not been a good day for Renee so far. First of all, she'd had to deal with a potential security problem at the new project. Then she'd had a meeting with Bradley Hunt from Personnel to discuss the latest problems with One Taelon Avenue. After that, she'd stopped by her office for a short break before meeting with Doors about the portal problem, only to get the message from Kincaid saying that he was taking off - somewhere unspecified - for two weeks, that she would be in charge of the Resistance during that time, and that she wasn't to do anything that might draw any attention. 

It hadn't helped her mood in the slightest. 

Augur shrugged. "I got a message from him saying that he was on medical leave for two weeks, and Dr. Park ordered him not to do anything resembling work. That's all." 

"Damn it, that's not enough!" Renee snapped. This really had _not_ been a good day. She had too many other things to do; she didn't have time to pick up the slack for Liam. "You're his friend, Augur... where would he go?" 

Augur frowned. "He's on medical leave, Renee. And after last week, I'd say that he needs the break. It's only for two weeks, that's all. Let him have the time." 

Renee rubbed her forehead tiredly. "We can't afford to, Augur," she declared. "I'm really too busy at the moment to handle the Resistance." She expected him to ask what she was busy with, but he stayed silent - perhaps recognizing for once that she wouldn't tell him even if he _did_ ask. 

"Where would he go?" she continued. 

Augur shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe Ireland. But I wouldn't count on it." 

"Ireland," Renee repeated thoughtfully. "Okay.... Thanks, Augur. That's all I needed to know." 

"Renee, give him a break, will you? He's spent the past week being attacked over and over - there are _reasons_ that Park put him on medical leave. He _needs_ the rest. Hell, he's never even _had_ a vacation before. Leave him alone." 

There were some people in Ireland that she could call on; if Liam was anywhere on the Emerald Isle, they'd be able to find him within a day or two. 

She could handle a day or two. 

"Renee? Are you even _listening_ to me?" Augur demanded. 

"That's all I needed to know, Augur," Renee repeated, the words a dismissal. 

Augur glared at her as he got up. "Don't go looking for him, Renee. Something tells me you'll regret it if you do." With that, the hacker stalked out. 

Renee didn't pay any attention to Augur's theatrics. As soon as the door closed behind him, she opened her global and dialed in a number. 

"Seamus O'Bannon, please," she told the woman who answered. 

* * *

Bettis frowned as he studied the information on the screen. 

"Is something wrong, Bettis?" asked a quiet voice from behind him, and Bettis started in surprise and turned to see the colonel standing in the door, giving him a questioning look. 

"For god's sake, can't you make some noise to let a guy know you're there?" Bettis grumbled under his breath. Then, returning his attention to the question the colonel had asked, he pushed his glasses a bit farther up on his nose and shrugged. "I don't know. Does the name 'Andrew Patterson' mean anything to you? He's apparently an FBI agent." 

Colonel Kincaid walked into the room and sat down on the edge of the table, cocking one eyebrow. "FBI Special Agent Andrew Patterson?" he asked. "Yes, I know who he is." 

"Good," Bettis replied, pushing himself away from his console with a sigh, "because he knows who you are, too." 

The colonel frowned at that. "What do you mean?" he demanded. 

"I got a message from Augur a couple of days ago to say that this Patterson guy had broken into some of our files," Bettis replied grimly. The guy was obviously on a par with both himself and Augur, and that could only mean one thing. Trouble. "He managed to bypass all the traps and alarms Augur and I had set, _without_ tripping any of them, but Augur was tracking him for some reason--" he continued. 

"Bettis..." the colonel interrupted, "what did he get?" 

"Sorry, Colonel. He accessed your file," Bettis answered. 

The colonel's frown deepened. "My file?" he repeated. "Did he get into anything else?" 

"No," Bettis said, shaking his head, "but then again, he wasn't trying to. It looks like he was just interested in you, for some reason." 

"In me... or in the Major?" the colonel asked, his expression thoughtful. 

Bettis froze, surprised. He hadn't even _considered_ that. "Err... since Augur informed me, and was already tracking what Patterson was doing... he's probably interested in the Major," he replied after a moment's thought. 

The colonel nodded in agreement. "Makes sense." 

"So what should we do?" Bettis asked. "After all, by getting into your file, Patterson's found out about us. And if he now knows that the Major isn't the real Liam Kincaid...." 

Colonel Kincaid shook his head. "We're not in any additional danger, Bettis; Special Agent Patterson already knew about Dark Knight. The general outline of what we're doing, at least, if not the details. And it's highly unlikely that he'll expose the Major." 

It was Bettis' turn to frown. "Already knew?" he repeated, puzzled. "How could he have already known? He's FBI, not high-ranking military!" 

"Patterson is involved in a... sister organization, you might say," the colonel replied slowly. "He and a few others in that organization were briefed on the basics of Operation Dark Knight." The colonel then gave Bettis a very pointed look. "That information is _not_ for general distribution, Bettis," he stated firmly. "You can tell Augur that we'll take care of our situation - but don't breathe a _word_ about Patterson's affiliations. Understand?" 

"Got it," Bettis replied, nodding, and turned back to the computer. "But what about the Major? And the Resistance? Shouldn't they at least be told that there's no threat?" 

"I'm sure Augur can handle telling the Major about Agent Patterson," the colonel replied. "As for the Resistance - just because Patterson's found out that the Major isn't the real Kincaid doesn't mean that they're automatically at risk. And I'm not going to take the chance of _any_ information about the organization that Patterson's a part of getting to the Taelons. So... no. Let them come to their own conclusions." Standing up, the colonel stepped away from the table, heading back to the door - and then stopped. "Bettis... increase security on all our operational files. And let me know if Patterson gets into anything else." 

  


Kincaid was frowning as he left the computer room. 

As he'd remarked to Bettis, based on the fact that Patterson had only gone after _his_ files, it looked as though the FBI agent was researching the Major. Which could mean one of two things. 

_Either they're worried that he could prove to be a serious threat... or they want to bring him in._

_If I had to guess, I'd have to say that they want him in. He'd be a definite asset to them._

Slipping into his office, Kincaid closed the door and sat down at his desk, thinking carefully. 

He - and Operation Dark Knight - had known about the imposter since he'd appeared at Will's funeral. Kincaid had spent the next few months trying to track down who the imposter really was, but all he and Bettis had been able to discover between them were the false records Augur had created. 

Since meeting 'the Major', as the ODK personnel had taking to calling the imposter, Kincaid had become even more curious as to the man's real identity. The Major had been a bundle of contradictions. If he hadn't had the evidence of his own eyes, at times Kincaid would have sworn that the Major was a green recruit, too brash and cocky for his own good. And yet, at other times, he displayed the knowledge and maturity of a man twice his claimed age of 31. 

However, the Major had proven himself trustworthy, so - for now, at least - Kincaid contented himself with idle speculation. Eventually, he was going to want to know the truth; but for the present, he had no real problems with the Major borrowing his identity. It certainly kept ODK safer. 

_And speaking of ODK...._ With a silent sigh, Kincaid pulled a pile of paperwork out of his inbox. _Wherever you find an organization - whether regular or covert - you find paperwork. I wonder if the Major has to deal with as much red tape as I do - or more, considering that he's also a Companion-Protector,_ he thought idly, as he got to work. 

* * *

Liam opened his eyes slowly. It took him a moment to remember what was happening, but the muted throbbing in his shoulder and - perhaps even more so - the view out his window quickly reminded him of where he was and whom he was with. Focusing on the view through the window, Liam saw that the city had been replaced by countryside, and he noticed that they were already climbing steadily into the mountains. 

"We're almost there," Sandoval said from the driver's seat, and Liam turned his attention to his father. "We've only got about another twenty-five minutes to go." 

"What's it like?" he asked, wanting to keep Sandoval talking. The silence that had filled the car before he'd fallen asleep had been uncomfortable, and he didn't want to go back to it. 

"The cabin? Very nice. It doesn't look much like a safehouse, which is part of the reason it's one of the Bureau's better ones - and such a coveted vacation spot. It's two storeys, not including the cellar, and has four bedrooms, a den with a working fireplace, a fully equipped kitchen, and a communications centre." 

Liam couldn't help reflecting that Sandoval sounded almost like a real estate agent trying to interest a prospective client - his tone was aggressively neutral, but with a touch of something else that Liam couldn't quite define. 

"There are also a number of hiking trails in the area," Sandoval continued, as he smoothly changed lanes and directed the car toward an exit ramp. "If you feel up to it, perhaps tomorrow we could hike down to Piney River." 

_Could it be... hopefulness?_ Liam wondered. It might be - if he wasn't just imagining things, trying to hear an echo in his father's voice of what he himself wanted from their time away together. 

"Sounds good," he agreed out loud. 

Silence filled the car again, and Liam returned his attention to the view outside his window, not knowing what else to do. He quickly found himself absorbed by the scenery. He didn't even notice that they'd arrived at the cabin until the car came to a stop and Sandoval announced, "We're here." 

Liam blinked again, and then focused on the view through the windshield. 

As Sandoval had said, it didn't look much like a safehouse. It didn't look much like Liam's idea of a cabin either, for that matter. 

For one thing, not only was it two storeys tall, but the front looked to be almost as wide across as the Flat Planet, and had a large, glassed-in porch. 

_Glass?_ Liam frowned. Looking a bit closer, he found himself correcting his initial impression; it wasn't real glass - which, even if shatterproof, would have constituted too much of a risk for a safehouse - but virtual glass. _More proof of the power of the FBI._

"Here," Sandoval said then, holding out a set of keys, "why don't you go in and take a look around while I get the bags out?" 

Liam nodded, and then twisted around in his seat to get the seat belt off. It was awkward, and his shoulder started to throb as he moved it, but he managed to undo the buckle well enough. Getting out of the car, he took the keys from Sandoval and headed toward the front door. 

If it looked big from the outside, from the inside it was absolutely _enormous_. 

The front door opened into a hallway that traveled the length of the cabin. To the right was an oddly-shaped door - a large pentangle - that led to the den Sandoval had mentioned, which also went the entire length of the cabin, and to the left was a normal rectangular door that led to the kitchen. At the far end of the hall was a staircase, and Liam walked over and headed up to take a look at the second floor. 

As his father had described, there were four bedrooms. Liam immediately picked out the one to the back of the cabin, on the right, as his favourite. It had a large double bed with a dark green bedspread, light blue walls, a golden-varnished hardwood floor with a small rectangular dark green rug to one side of the bed, and large windows with a lovely view of the forest behind the cabin. It felt warm and welcoming, and Liam found himself relaxing as he looked around. For some reason, the room's ambience made him think of his mother, and he suspected that it would have been her first choice as well. 

The other bedrooms all had double beds and hardwood floors as well, but the colour schemes were different, as were the views from the window; they were all nice, but the light blue room was definitely the one Liam preferred - it felt the most comfortable. 

Walking back down to the main floor, Liam peered down the stairs toward the cellar, and then decided that he'd probably better go help Sandoval bring in the groceries and their bags before exploring any further. 

  


Sandoval watched as Liam unlocked the front door and headed into the cabin, and then he walked around to the back of the car. Lifting the lid of the trunk, he took out the bags of groceries and brought them over to the porch before going back for their luggage, concentrating on the mundane task in a futile effort to push the hints of uncertainty he felt out of his mind. 

He took his suitcases out first, and then reached in to pick up Liam's duffle - and gasped in shock at the weight of it. It felt as though he was trying to pick up a bag of rocks. _What the hell does he have in here?_

Sandoval could manage it - one of the advantages of having a CVI was the physical enhancements it provided - but only just. Liam had carried it all the way down from his apartment to the car - using only his left arm - without breaking into a sweat. 

Not for the first time, Sandoval wondered just what else he had left to learn about his new-found son - and whether or not he really was prepared for everything that he would discover. With a rueful sigh, he shook his head and carefully lowered the bag to the ground. 

Then Liam reappeared at the front door, and, seeing Sandoval standing by the car with the luggage, he walked over and picked up his bag. "I'll take this in," he said, and then gave Sandoval a hesitant look. "Which is my room?" 

"Your choice," Sandoval answered instantly, eyeing him thoughtfully for a moment. _Should I ask about the weight of his bag?_

_No. We're still not all that comfortable with each other, and considering the way he reacted when he found out that I knew he was part-Kimera... no, better not to bring up any of his differences just at the moment._ "Which one would you like?" 

"The light blue one," Liam replied instantly. 

Sandoval nodded, feeling his uncertainty raise its head again. This entire situation was more awkward than he'd considered. 

Maybe, if they managed to keep busy, it would help them both ease into things; but, on the other hand, he didn't want Liam putting too much of a strain on his shoulder.... 

"All right," he said finally. "Why don't you go in and get unpacked, and I'll get started on dinner? The drive out here took a bit longer than I thought, and it will take about an hour to get dinner ready." 

"Okay," Liam said, and headed back into the cabin, stepping carefully over the bags of groceries. 

Sandoval closed the trunk lid and locked up the car, then took his suitcases in and left them just inside the den. Carrying the groceries into the kitchen, he could hear the faint sounds of Liam moving around upstairs, and he found himself growing even more nervous. 

_Am I going about this the right way?_ he wondered, a bit desperately, as he started to put the groceries away. _I've lost my parents, DeeDee, Siobhan...._ He felt a touch of bitterness. _They've all been taken from me. My parents by illness; DeeDee - and the family I could have had with her - and Siobhan by the Taelons. And if Zo'or or the Synod - or any Taelon other than Da'an - find out about Liam, I'll lose him too._

Sandoval shook his head, silently admonishing himself. This was no time for pessimism. Liam had managed to keep the truth of his identity and heritage secret so far - and that had been while Sandoval had been actively trying to learn that truth. And as for his worries about how things would work out between himself and Liam... well, both of them wanted this _We are going to learn how to be father and son, even if it takes us the entire two weeks just to get started. That's all there is to it._

Opening one of the bottom cupboards, he pulled out an electric frying pan. Plugging it in, he took a package of lean ground beef out of one of the grocery bags and emptied it into the pan. Spaghetti and meat sauce tonight - a nice, easy to prepare meal, but one that would take a little while to get ready, so Liam could have a chance to relax a bit before dinner. 

Half an hour later, the meat sauce was simmering nicely and Sandoval was getting ready to put on the water for the spaghetti when he realized that he hadn't heard anything from upstairs for a while. Had Liam come downstairs without him noticing? 

Heading out of the kitchen, he peered into the den, but didn't see Liam anywhere. He wasn't in the communications centre next to the kitchen either, and the stairs down to the cellar made a very distinctive sound when they were stepped on - a sound that Sandoval hadn't heard. 

Going upstairs, he peered into the blue room, and wasn't overly surprised to see Liam sprawled across the bed, sound asleep. 

Sandoval stood in the doorway of the room for several minutes, just watching Liam sleep. 

Over the past few days, his attention had been focused on capturing McKenna - for the most part - and on how to tell Liam that he knew the truth. Even the drive out here had been spent more focused on his relief at Liam's acceptance than the difficult subjects that they had to talk about. And there was a great deal that they _needed_ to talk about. 

Sandoval walked silently into the room and sat down in the chair that rested in one corner, keeping his eyes on Liam the entire time. 

Yes, there was a whole _list_ of things they needed to discuss. 

_Starting with the matter of the gun I gave him to deal with the Jaridian replicant, all the way through to what I did to Captain Marquette,_ Sandoval thought bitterly. 

It was that last that had the most potential for damage. Most of the other things he'd done that he could discuss with Liam were things that Liam already knew about, one way or the other - except for the elite, of course, which should prove to be a pleasant surprise for his son - but not even the elite or Andrew knew that Marquette was still alive, much less where she was. Tate was the only other person on Earth who did know, and even he didn't have the _full_ story. 

What he'd done to Captain Marquette wasn't something he was particularly proud of - and it wasn't something that he could offer any excuses for. He hadn't done it on the orders of Zo'or or another Taelon; it was something he'd come up with himself, a plan to cement an alliance with the Jaridians. Captain Marquette had had the knowledge of ID travel and the distrust of the Taelons - and, most importantly, she had been available and it had been reasonably simple to fake her death. 

It had been very much a matter of the lesser of two evils. If he hadn't done _something_ about Marquette, she would have been interrogated by Zo'or and the Synod - and both his plans and the Resistance would have been even more seriously endangered than they had been by the crackdown. Marquette had known that his motivational imperative was gone, and that he had an agenda of his own, something that Zo'or - still - only suspected. If they'd broken her - and they would have; the Taelon interrogators were very skilled, unfortunately - everything Sandoval had been working towards would have been in danger. Yes, his plan had very definitely been the lesser of two evils. 

The problem was, would his son see it that way? It wasn't something he really wanted to tell Liam about.... 

But if he and Liam were going to have any chance at building a real father/son relationship, it was going to have to have a foundation of truth. Somehow, he was going to _have_ to find a way of telling Liam what he'd done. 

With a soft but bitter sigh, Sandoval pushed himself out of the chair. Leaning over, he carefully pulled the bedspread over Liam's sleeping form, and walked quietly out of the room. 

The meat sauce would keep until tomorrow; he'd just heat up one of the instant dinners he'd thrown into the grocery cart as an afterthought. And then he'd go to bed, and hope that he didn't dream.


	2. Thursday, Week 1

Liam opened his eyes and squinted at the bright sunlight pouring in through the window. He felt more relaxed - contented, even - than he had in days; since long before Sandoval's first aborted vacation, in fact.

_Well, that's not surprising,_ he reflected. _Even before McKenna came on the scene, Renee was stirring up trouble. And then there was McKenna himself,_ he repressed a shiver, _and my shoulder, and the vaile, and my shaqarava, and Sandoval...._

He shook his head, careful not to jar his shoulder as he did so. _Stop it... don't dwell on all that. All you'll do is give yourself a headache._

_Besides, McKenna's on the mothership in a cell, Renee's out of my hair (and is probably going to be annoying the hell out of Augur) for the next two weeks, my shoulder and arm are healing, my shaqarava are fine... and I'm on vacation with my father._

Liam suspected that it was the last item on the list that was mostly responsible for the contentment he was feeling at the moment. From the time he'd been born, Sandoval had been an adversary. It had only been recently - since Sandoval's stay in the hospital, and the way he'd opened up to Liam there - that Liam had allowed himself to even consider the possibility of having a father/son relationship with Sandoval. And he definitely hadn't looked for it to be this soon! 

In fact, he was still having a bit of a hard time getting his mind wrapped around the entire concept of them being here together; after all, it had only been yesterday that he'd been terrified Sandoval would be disgusted by his existence - or hand him over to Zo'or. Liam wasn't sure which would have been worse, or hurt him more: rejection, or betrayal. 

_But he didn't._ Liam couldn't keep himself from grinning in delight, and didn't even bother to try. _He wants me as his son._

Sitting up, he leaned slowly and carefully against the headboard. His shoulder wasn't hurting much - just a dull, throbbing ache that was almost pleasant when compared with the agony he'd been experiencing Sunday night and Tuesday. 

Glancing around the room, he smiled. The sun coming in through the window reflected brilliantly off the polished hardwood floor, lending the room a feeling of light and warmth. 

Looking out the window, he noticed - with a certain amount of surprise - that the sun was fairly high up in the sky - which meant that it had to be fairly close to noon. He'd slept the clock round and then some. 

_I'm on vacation - I could lie in bed all day and do nothing if I wanted to._ Not that he'd do any such thing, of course. But he couldn't think of any other time when he'd actually been able to enjoy the luxury of being able to sleep in. The few days Da'an had given him off during the past year had been spent occupied with Resistance matters. Well, that wasn't going to happen today, or for the next two weeks. He could sleep in whenever he wanted. 

_But I don't want to sleep any more today - I think I've slept more than enough already._

Carefully getting out of bed, Liam wandered over to the chest of drawers where he'd unpacked his duffle last night. Taking out a loose green shirt and a pair of jeans, he got dressed and headed downstairs in his bare feet. 

The main floor was deserted - Sandoval was nowhere to be seen - but there was a plate of eggs and bacon sitting in the oven keeping warm. A pleasant surprise - Sandoval must have cooked earlier and left some for him. Taking the plate out, Liam wandered into the small but cozy dining room that was just off the kitchen. 

There was a note on the table, in Sandoval's handwriting. 

_Liam,_

_Just gone for a walk. If you haven't gotten it already, there's breakfast in the oven for you._

_The weather looks good for that hike down to Piney River this afternoon, if you're feeling up to it._

_There's a small library in the basement if you'd like to take a look._

_I'll be back sometime between eleven-thirty and twelve._

_\-- Sandoval_

According to his watch, it was just past eleven now. 

Liam dug into his breakfast. He was famished - he felt as though he hadn't eaten in days - and the food was prepared just the way he liked it. When it came to food, he shared a lot of his father's tastes. 

By the time he finished eating it was about twenty to twelve. Sandoval hadn't arrived back yet, so Liam decided to take the suggestion mentioned in the note and, after giving his plate and cutlery a quick rinse and leaving them in the sink, he headed down to the cellar. 

It was divided into two sections - a laundry room, and a library. And while the library wasn't the biggest he'd ever seen, it had a very diverse collection. 

After skimming through the shelves, Liam finally settled on David Eddings' _The Belgariad_. Sandoval had started reading it several years ago, before the Taelons had come, but he'd never gotten past the second book,  Queen of Sorcery, and Liam was curious as to how the series turned out. Carefully taking the books off the shelf and holding them with his left arm, he headed back up to the den and curled up on the couch. 

By the time Sandoval arrived back from his walk at about five after twelve, Liam was deeply engrossed in Garion and Ce'Nedra's adventures. 

  


Sandoval took a bottle of water out of the fridge and wandered over to the den. Leaning against the doorframe, he fixed his gaze on Liam. 

His son was curled up on the long blue couch, holding a book in his left hand, the expression on his face one of rapt fascination as he read. 

Sandoval hesitated for a few minutes, not wanting to disturb Liam; but he knew that they had to talk, and that the longer he put it off, the harder it would be. And it was going to be hard enough as it was. 

Finally he shifted, pushing himself away from the door, but before he could say anything, Liam looked up from the book and gave him a hesitant smile. "Thanks for breakfast," he said quietly. "How was your walk?" 

"You're welcome, and it was quite pleasant. It's a lovely day out," Sandoval replied. Then, with a curious glance at the book, "What are you reading?" he inquired. Yes, they needed to talk - but there was no rule that said he couldn't try to ease his way into it. 

"Castle of Wizardry," Liam said, holding the book up so that Sandoval could see it. "It's the fourth book of David Eddings' _The Belgariad_. They had the entire series downstairs, as well as _The Mallorean_." 

Sandoval nodded absently as he walked in and sat down in the comfortable leather chair that faced the couch. "How are you feeling?" 

"Not too bad," Liam answered, sounding quite pleased. "Much better than Tuesday, and even a bit better than yesterday. My arm's starting to itch, though." 

"Good - I'm glad to hear that. Itching's a good sign - it means that you're starting to heal," Sandoval said. He leaned back in the chair, studying his son for a moment. He'd come up with an idea on how to talk to Liam during his ramble this morning, and it was time to get started. "I was thinking," he began carefully, "that we could eat lunch, and then take that hike down to Piney River this afternoon. If you want to go, of course." 

" _Yes!_ " Liam declared eagerly. Then he paused. "But... you already went for a walk," he pointed out, sounding vaguely disappointed. 

"Not a very long one, much less an actual hike," Sandoval replied quickly. "This morning - I was just wandering around, familiarizing myself with the area. Besides, I promised you yesterday that if you were feeling up to it, we'd hike down there today. I'm told it's a beautiful trail - I believe 'absolutely spectacular' were the words Andrew used. 

"Anyway, it's due to rain for much of tonight and tomorrow, which would mean that if we don't go this afternoon, we'd have to put it off until Sunday at the earliest, in order to give the trail time to dry off." 

"All right," Liam agreed, grinning, as the hint of disappointment vanished from his expression, leaving only the excitement. "What are we going to have for lunch?" he asked a moment later, putting his book down on the table beside the couch. 

"I'll make sandwiches," Sandoval said. "What would you like? We've got roast beef, ham, turkey, chicken, mozzarella, Swiss and cheddar." 

"Grilled cheddar cheese with roast beef," Liam answered instantly. "Two of them, please," he added, giving Sandoval a hopeful, almost pleading look. "They're one of my favourites, and I'm hungry." 

Sandoval felt a faint smile cross his face. A _real_ smile. It was an expression that had become unfamiliar to him over the past four years - but it felt good to smile. It felt even better to have a _reason_ to smile. "Two grilled cheese and roast beef sandwiches, coming right up!" he called over his shoulder as he headed into the kitchen and started pulling out what he would need. 

As he buttered the bread and heated up the frying pan, it suddenly occurred to Sandoval to wonder about Liam's choice of lunch. 

Grilled cheese and roast beef sandwiches had always been one of his personal favourites for fast, easy to make lunches. He'd never known anyone else - with the exception of his mother, who had introduced him to them - who liked them. Even DeeDee had always had either plain grilled cheese _or_ plain roast beef sandwiches - she'd never tried combining the tastes. 

So... was it merely a coincidence that Liam liked them as well? Or, Sandoval wondered - remembering the omelette Liam had prepared for him, exactly the way he liked it, Sunday morning - was there something about Liam that he wasn't seeing? 

Well, there'd be time later to figure it out. Or, at least, he hoped that there would be. If Liam wasn't so angry with him about what had been done - _What I did,_ Sandoval corrected himself bitterly - to Captain Marquette that he wouldn't want anything to do with Sandoval. 

* * *

The walk down to Piney River had taken them two and a half hours; Sandoval had kept their pace leisurely, ostensibly to make sure they had a chance to take in the scenery - which was, as Andrew had claimed, absolutely spectacular - but in reality to make sure that Liam didn't tire himself out. Despite the fact that Liam was getting better, he definitely wasn't one hundred percent yet; and Sandoval was well aware of the fact that the upcoming discussion would place a great deal of stress on him. 

They'd chatted a bit during the walk, about this and that - nothing very important, just the weather, and the books that Liam had noticed down in the library. Nothing about the Taelons or the Resistance. 

Liam sat down at the base of a tree right on the bank of the river and grinned up at Sandoval. "You were right - it _is_ a lovely trail." 

Sandoval nodded in agreement, taking a deep breath and then letting it out slowly. _It's time...._ "Liam... we need to talk." 

Liam's grin vanished, and a look of apprehension crossed his face. "Talk?" he repeated warily. 

Sandoval nodded. "I... I need to tell you some things. Explain some of what I've been doing over the past year." 

The apprehension on Liam's face faded, though it didn't disappear completely, to be replaced by an intense, burning curiosity - a _need_ to know. 

Sandoval winced inwardly. This was going to be even harder than he'd feared. "Liam... you're not going to like this - most of it isn't good," he warned. "There are some things I'm proud of, yes, but most.... Not all of the things that you won't like were done on Zo'or's orders." 

"I'm listening..." Liam murmured, his gaze fixed on Sandoval's face. 

Sandoval took another deep breath. "Liam.... It's...." He hesitated for a moment, and then finished, "Captain Marquette... is alive." 

  


Liam stared at Sandoval in absolute shock. He must have been hearing things - Sandoval _couldn't_ have said what it sounded like he had. 

"Liam?" Sandoval asked, hesitantly. 

"I.... Did you just say that Lili's _alive_?!" Liam blurted out. 

Sandoval's mouth was set in a tight line as he nodded. "Yes." 

"But... but I... I _saw_ her! I saw her body - you were there!" 

Sandoval sighed softly and looked away from him, leaning against a neighbouring tree. "It was a bio-surrogate - a non-living clone. I _did_ try to stop you from looking, Liam. I'd had to make it appear as though she'd died of injuries suffered when she sabotaged the engines." Unspoken words lingered in the air between them... _'I didn't want you to see her like that.'_

Liam blinked. "A... bio-surrogate?" he repeated slowly. "Lili's really alive?" 

"Yes," his father replied. "But I had to convince the Taelons - especially Zo'or - that she had died of her injuries. I.... This is going to sound harsh, Liam, but I couldn't afford to let her fall into Zo'or's hands. She knew too much. And in order to convince the Taelons completely, I had to convince everyone else as well." 

"So you saved her," Liam prompted. 

Sandoval shifted uneasily at that. "It.... There's more to this, Liam." 

_He looks uncomfortable,_ Liam thought, and then frowned as something else occurred to him. "Wait a minute... if everyone thinks she's dead, then where is she?" 

Sandoval pushed himself away from the tree and began pacing, walking to the edge of the river's bank and then back to the end of the trail... back and forth, back and forth. 

"Sandoval?" Liam repeated, a bit more forcefully. He had the feeling that he was about to find out what his father had figured he wouldn't like. 

"She's... on Jaridia," Sandoval replied finally. He stopped on the bank, staring out over the river. Liam could see his shoulders tense under his shirt. "I... sent her there, as a... peace offering." 

Once again, Liam could only stare at Sandoval, shocked speechless. _A... 'peace offering'? What does he mean? What kind of peace offering?_

As the silence lengthened, Sandoval turned around to look at him, but still wouldn't meet his eyes. 

"Liam?" he questioned finally. 

Liam swallowed. "What... what do you mean by... 'peace offering'?" he asked. 

Sandoval looked away again. "Two things," he replied softly. "Firstly... I doubt Da'an has told you this, but the Jaridians sent a message to us that should have arrived a year before the Taelons did. The Taelons intercepted it and made sure that it never reached Earth, but the Jaridians don't know that. 

"The message contained a warning about the Taelons - a description of what they'd done to other worlds. It also contained a warning for us; that if we aided the Taelons, we would be seen as being no better than them, and would be destroyed. 

"Captain Marquette knows that we never received any message from the Jaridians - and she's a member of the Resistance. The combination of those two factors should - hopefully - convince the Jaridians that our 'alliance' with the Taelons was made in ignorance." 

Liam stared. 

Oh, he'd known since he was a few months old that Sandoval had his own agenda, and that it didn't march entirely in step with that of the Taelons - but what Sandoval had just told him, and the tone of voice he'd used.... Liam had never realized just how much his father _hated_ the Taelons. It was something to think about... later. Much later. Like the message Sandoval had just mentioned - that, as he had said, Da'an had never told Liam about. 

"What about the second thing?" he asked. 

Sandoval's shoulders tensed even more. "The Jaridians are dying - just like the Taelons, but in a different way. Taelons are long-lived and have become sterile; Jaridians are short-lived, their bodies quite often burning up - literally - before they reach thirty. And now they too are becoming sterile. 

"Ma'el apparently thought that humans were the key, the missing link that could be used to reunite the Taelons and the Jaridians, solving both races' problems. Da'an agreed with that, and even Zo'or is beginning to come around to that point of view - though his focus is only on the Taelons, not the Jaridians. 

"In order to save their races, they need to join with humans. That was what the hybrid program that produced the Hartley twins was all about." 

Liam nodded slowly. "But what does this have to do with Lil--" The words suddenly stuck in his throat as he realized what Sandoval was leading up to. "You... you...." 

"I sent her to play Mother-Saviour to the Jaridian race," Sandoval said flatly. 

"But... but... _why_?!" 

"I told you, Liam - as a peace offering." Sandoval turned back to face him, and this time he did meet Liam's eyes. "I don't want to see Earth destroyed, either in a battle between the Taelons and the Jaridians, or by the Jaridians because they thought we received their message and chose to ignore it. I made the decision that one life, measured against the lives of everyone and everything on Earth, was worth the risk. 

"And to be quite frank, Liam, what Captain Marquette has now is a far better fate than she would have had if I hadn't sent her. She's alive, she hasn't betrayed the Resistance, and the Jaridians will treat her well. If she'd stayed here, she'd definitely be dead by now - Taelon and Volunteer interrogation techniques aren't easy on the 'subjects' - and she would most likely not have been able to prevent herself from betraying the Resistance - and you. 

"I'm not trying to justify anything of what I did to her," Sandoval continued, as Liam watched him. "There's no point - you'll either accept it or not. I'm simply telling you what went into making the decision." 

Liam took a deep breath. "I.... Is that everything?" 

"About Captain Marquette, yes. There _are_ other things I wa-- need to tell you... but they can wait. This was... personal - the rest isn't." 

"I.... Sandoval, I need to... think about this," Liam said after a moment, biting at his lower lip. He was still somewhat numb from the revelations of the last several minutes, but he could feel a whole torrent of emotions building up, and he knew that he would need to be alone when the shock wore off. 

"All right," Sandoval replied. "I'm going to head back to the cabin. Come back when you're ready." 

"Okay," Liam said softly, staring down at the river. 

Sandoval started to reach one hand out to him, to touch his shoulder, and then stopped himself and pulled back. "Don't stay out too long - remember, it's due to start raining later," he said quietly, and then walked slowly over to the trail and started along it. 

Liam continued to stare silently at the rushing water. _What do I do now?_

* * *

FBI Special Agent Andrew Patterson leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought. 

It had been a very long week, starting late last Thursday afternoon when Ron had called him and told him to check into Major Kincaid. Since then, so many things had happened so fast that Andrew was starting to lose track. 

One thing stood out above all the others, however. 

For whatever reason, despite the fact that Andrew hadn't been able to find _anything_ on the man who was impersonating Liam Neville Kincaid, Ron had decided that he could be trusted. 

Since his MI had broken down and he'd regained his free will, Ron had become almost fanatically careful about whom he chose to trust. It was an attitude that Andrew approved of wholeheartedly - and one that made Ron's sudden decision to trust 'Major Kincaid' very strange - almost suspicious - and quite possibly dangerous. Added to that the fact that Ron had told him to stop his investigation into the truth about 'Major Kincaid'... well, it painted quite a worrisome picture. 

It was a puzzle - one that could potentially mean danger to Ron if it wasn't solved - and, his determination to keep his old friend safe aside, Andrew had never been able to resist a puzzle. 

"Okay... what have we got so far?" he muttered out loud. It was four o'clock Thursday afternoon, and the small Computer Intelligence office was deserted except for Andrew - only three of them came in on Thursdays, and the other two were currently in a meeting with the assistant director about one of their ongoing cases. Which was good, because he did his best work when he could think out loud - something that always drove Ron crazy - and this situation needed his very best. 

"Let's see. The real Kincaid disappeared four years ago, just after the S.I. War - which was presumably when he was promoted up to colonel and became the field commander for Operation Dark Knight," Andrew mused, flicking his gaze over the small holes in the pasteboard ceiling. There was an average of 348 holes in each tile - he'd counted them, more than once. "Then, a little over a year ago, someone claiming to be _Major_ Liam Kincaid shows up at the funeral of Companion-Protector Commander William Boone - Kincaid's CO during the War - and saves Da'an from a Jaridian replicant. Within a few days, he becomes Da'an's Protector, taking Boone's place, but doesn't receive an implant. 

"Only," Andrew continued to himself, absently swinging his chair around in an arc, back and forth, "it turns out that 'Major Kincaid' is an impostor. Not only that, but all his personal files - including his medical information - have been faked by one of the most skilled hackers around, a hacker who's been tentatively associated with the Resistance; and who, for some reason, chose to replace the imposter's real brainwaves with those of Jonathan Doors in his medical records. Wonder how he was able to pull that off?" Andrew added thoughtfully. "He must have had the cooperation of the Major's doctor, or else this imposture would have been over _toute suite_.... 

"And then Ron changed his mind about having me do a DNA-based search to find out who this guy really is...." 

He continued to stare up at the ceiling for another minute or two, and then gave a sharp nod as he made his decision. Straightening back up in his chair, he moved back over to his desk and began typing rapidly on the keyboard. _Time to try some old-fashioned detective work,_ he thought, as he instructed the computer to download everything it could find that mentioned 'Major Liam Kincaid' to his secure drive. 

* * *

Liam's attention was caught by a quick movement just visible out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head to follow the movement, he saw a bird alight on a branch of one of the trees on the other side of the river. Watching it flutter and preen, Liam sighed heavily. He wasn't sure how long it had been since Sandoval had left - he'd just been staring at the water rushing past as he tried to work things out. 

He had no idea what he should be feeling about Sandoval's revelation. Oh, he was glad that Lili was still alive - there was no doubt about that - but still.... 

_"I sent her to play Mother-Saviour to the Jaridian race."_

Sandoval would have had to blue-tank her, change her physiology, to enable her to survive on Jaridia, Liam knew. He didn't want to think about what she must have undergone. 

_But she's still alive. And you know Sandoval's right about the fact that she wouldn't have been able to hold out against the Volunteers and Zo'or 'interrogating' her if he hadn't faked her death._

"Only he didn't give her a choice," Liam said out loud, talking to himself - or maybe to the bird. "She deserved to have a choice." 

_But just because someone deserves something doesn't necessarily mean that they will get it. Life's not always fair, or just._

Liam worried at his lower lip, uncertain. _So what should I do?_

* * *

Sandoval looked at his watch, and then glanced worriedly out the window. It was almost seven-thirty, and Liam still wasn't back yet. And to make it worse, it had just begun to rain - and while it had started out fairly gently, it was very rapidly on its way to becoming a downpour. 

Kneeling down in front of the fireplace, he laid a log on top of the old paper he'd piled there earlier, and, taking one of the long matches from the box on the mantle, lit the fire. 

Sitting back on his haunches, he watched the small flame flicker for a moment, before it caught the log. Once he was certain that the fire was going to keep going, he stood back up and looked out the window again. 

_If he isn't back within the next five minutes, I'll take an umbrella and go lo--_ The noise of the outside front door opening broke into Sandoval's musings, and he hurried out into the hall in time to see the inside door open and Liam walk in. 

_He looks like a soggy kitten,_ was Sandoval's first thought. Curly golden-brown hair was plastered to Liam's forehead, making him appear absurdly young, and his shirt and jeans were soaked through, sticking to his skin. Sandoval couldn't help but think that Liam looked as though he'd been standing under a waterfall. Under other circumstances, he would have found Liam's current appearance quite amusing. 

However, circumstances being what they were, Sandoval was more intent on finding out how Liam felt about him, now that he knew the truth about Marquette. Liam's expression was no help - for once, his feelings weren't written all over his face for anyone to read - and Sandoval felt unaccountably helpless. 

They stayed frozen like that, looking at each other, for a long moment - and then Liam sneezed. 

The sound broke Sandoval's paralysis, and he moved into action. 

"Go upstairs and get changed into some dry clothes, Liam," he ordered firmly, gesturing toward the stairs. "Once you've done that, come back down and sit next to the fire. I'll get dinner heated up, and we'll sit and eat it in the den." 

Liam looked at him blankly for a moment, then nodded and drifted toward the stairs. 

Sandoval watched long enough to make sure that Liam was obeying, and then headed into the kitchen. He'd put the meat sauce on to simmer as soon as he'd gotten back to the cabin, almost two and a half hours ago; all he needed to do now was get the pasta ready. 

  


Twenty minutes later, Sandoval came back into the den, carrying two full plates and cutlery. He'd heard Liam come down a few minutes ago, and had quickly put the finishing touches on their meal. 

Liam had taken the cushions off the blue couch and piled them on the floor right in front of the fireplace. He was sitting on one of them, hugging his legs to his chest with his good arm. 

"Here you go," Sandoval said quietly, holding one of the plates out to him. 

Liam uncurled and took the plate with his left hand. "Thank you," he murmured. 

Sandoval sat down on one of the other cushions, and several minutes passed in an uncomfortable silence as they both concentrated on their food. 

Finally, Sandoval couldn't take it any longer. He'd spent the past day worrying about how Liam would react to the revelation of what had really happened to Captain Marquette; but now that he'd said it all, Liam wasn't reacting. 

"Liam, did you... settle anything this afternoon?" he asked. _How do you feel about what I did? What do you feel about me, now that you know?_

Liam looked up from his spaghetti and met Sandoval's eyes. "Yes," he replied quietly. 

"And?" Sandoval prompted, although he wasn't sure that he really wanted to know. If Liam had decided that he didn't want anything to do with Sandoval, what would happen? How would he deal with it? After finally finding his son, he honestly wasn't certain that he could handle a rejection. 

Liam took a deep breath and glanced away for a moment - he was obviously nervous about this. Sandoval's tension increased. Then, "I don't like it - I don't like what you did to Lili," Liam said. "It wasn't right, and you know that. And I'm angry and upset about it; but at the same time, I know there wasn't really any easy or good answer to the situation you were both in. 

"I know that you're right about what would have happened to her if you hadn't faked her death. I don't know what I would have done in your place." He met Sandoval's eyes again, his own eyes stormy grey, conflicted. "I.... What's done is done. We can't change the past, no matter how much we might wish to at times. There are certainly a lot of things that I would want to change if I could." For an instant, the expression in Liam's eyes made him look old and weary, and Sandoval flinched inwardly. His son should never have had any reason to look like that. 

"So... where do we stand?" he asked after a long moment, his tone blunt. He could deal with Liam being angry with him, or upset with him - both of which were justified, as far as he was concerned - just as long as Liam was still willing to make an effort at building their relationship. 

Liam blinked, looking surprised, as though the question had never even occurred to him. "What do you mean?" 

Sandoval felt a momentary surge of relief, but pushed it back down quickly. "I was wondering if what I told you made you change your mind about... this trip," he finished after a slight pause. He felt uncomfortable enough about his insecurity without broadcasting it. 

"No!" Liam exclaimed, his expression stunned. "Sandoval... just because I'm upset about what you did to Lili doesn't mean that I don't want to be here." He hesitated for a moment. "It _is_ all right for parents and children to be upset with each other sometimes, isn't it?" he asked uncertainly. 

Surprised by the absolutely serious tone of the question, Sandoval searched Liam's face for a moment, and finding only honest curiosity, mingled with a touch of apprehension, he nodded. "Of course it is," he replied firmly, remembering a number of arguments between his father and himself. "It happens all the time." 

"So it's all right that I'm upset with you?" Liam questioned. 

He sounded very much like a young, uncertain child - which he was, Sandoval reminded himself. Young, and a child, even if not physically. A child who'd never had his parents there for him, until now. A child seeking reassurance that he wasn't going to be punished for what he was feeling. 

"Yes, it's all right, Liam. You're perfectly entitled. To tell you the truth, I'd be quite surprised if you _weren't_ upset with me over this. And a bit worried - you've often gotten angry with me before." 

"But... that was different," Liam said hesitantly as he looked away from Sandoval again. 

"No, Liam, it's not," Sandoval said, his words firm but his tone as gentle as he could make it. "We're still the same people we were two weeks ago. I know more now, and the situation has changed - but _we_ haven't. Besides, I used to get angry with _my_ father all the time. Very angry." 

Liam tilted his head slightly to one side as his gaze became unfocused. 

Sandoval frowned, wondering what was going through his son's mind. "Liam?" 

Liam blinked, his expression dazed for a moment before he refocused on Sandoval. He shook his head - as if to clear it - and then winced. 

_Probably jarred his shoulder,_ Sandoval thought with a touch of concern. "Are you all right?" 

"Tired," Liam muttered, putting his plate down on the floor next to him. Then he met Sandoval's eyes. "I don't like it," he repeated quietly. "But I... I appreciate your willingness to tell me about it; and I do understand why you did it, even though I don't agree with it." 

"Captain Marquette _is_ well, Liam," Sandoval hastened to reassure him. "I've been in... occasional contact with the Jaridians, and apparently she's fine and starting to adapt to life on Jaridia." 

Liam nodded, then yawned. 

"All right, bedtime," Sandoval declared. Putting his own - empty - plate to one side, he stood up and held out his hand. 

Liam just looked up at him for a long moment - making Sandoval nervous that he'd been too optimistic about their chances too soon - and then extended his left arm so that Sandoval could grasp it and pull him to his feet. 

"I'll clean up in here," Sandoval continued, gently steering Liam toward the door into the hall. "You go to bed. We'll talk some more tomorrow." 

Liam nodded again and slipped his arm out of Sandoval's grasp before heading for the stairs. Sandoval watched him walk slowly up to the landing, and then returned to the den. 

Picking up the plates, he grimaced as he noticed that Liam had only eaten about half of what Sandoval had prepared for him. 

_He's injured, Ron. And it's been a very long day for him._

_I should have waited until he was better physically before springing all this on him,_ Sandoval thought then, irritated with himself. Hindsight was, as always, 20/20, but Sandoval knew that he really should have considered Liam's physical condition before bringing up the matter of Captain Marquette - or, at least, before bringing it up during their hike. 

_Maybe it would have been better if we'd stayed in this afternoon and I'd told him here. But as Liam said, what's past is past, and there's no changing it now._

With a sigh, he headed for the kitchen. 

It took him only about ten minutes to wash the plates and cutlery and put them away. Once that was done, he glanced at his watch - and was vaguely surprised to see that it was only just past nine o'clock. It had been a _very_ long day, and he felt almost as tired as Liam appeared to have been. 

He headed upstairs, but rather than going straight to his own room, he stopped just outside Liam's. The door had been left slightly ajar, and he peered in. 

Liam was, as he'd expected, already fast asleep. 

_This is fast starting to become a habit,_ Sandoval thought, a touch ruefully, as he slipped inside and walked over to the bed. Maybe it was something about being a father. Certainly when he was a kid, he'd woken up a few times in the middle of the night to find _his_ father dozing in the chair by his bed, having fallen asleep while watching over him. 

Looking down at his son, he frowned as he noticed that Liam's face looked flushed. Placing the back of his hand against Liam's forehead, he felt the frown deepen. Liam was slightly feverish, much as he had been Monday night - and Sunday night, according to Dr. Park. 

It _could_ be due to overexertion or stress - both of which Liam had experienced Sunday, Monday and today - but Sandoval's gut instinct insisted otherwise. 

_There's nothing much I can do at the moment. I'll just have to make sure to keep a close watch on him. But at the moment, it's mild - and we both need our sleep. I'll check to make sure that the cut on his arm isn't infected tomorrow._

"Goodnight, Liam," he murmured, before heading for his own room and well-deserved rest.


	3. Friday AM, Week 1

Renee glared at the screen of her global in irritation as she waited for Seamus to answer.

It had been two days since Liam had disappeared off to - well, wherever the hell he was. Two days in which Renee had had to split her attention about half a dozen different ways, between everything she had to deal with. She could only just manage the search for the security breach - or leak - and the project Jonathan had started with Reynaud on top of her regular duties for Doors International. There simply weren't enough hours in the day for her to handle the Resistance as well. 

Then Seamus' face appeared on the screen. He sported a broad grin, and Renee scowled darkly at him. 

"Ooh, ye look to be in a right temper, y' do," the Irishman said, his grin widening. She gritted her teeth - she'd never been able to intimidate him. 

"I don't just look it, I am," Renee snapped back. "Have you got any information for me?" 

"Only that if yer Major Liam Kincaid is in Ireland, he's lying very, very low," Seamus replied. "I havena been able to find him, even in his regular haunts." 

Renee blinked at that. "Regular haunts?" she repeated. 

_So, Liam goes to Ireland 'regularly'? Why the hell does he do that?_

"Aye. From what people have said, there's a wee town up north, near Belfast, that he visits almost every month for a weekend. Visitin' his colleague's grave, belike." 

"'Colleague'?" Renee repeated again. 

"Lieutenant Siobhan Beckett," Seamus replied. "She was the UK Companion-Protector until she died last year - oh, about ten months ago. Shortly after that mess wi' the buggies what liked the portals." 

Renee nodded in recognition as she remembered where she'd heard about Beckett. 

She'd spent about a week after the inter-dimensional bugs had been dealt with travelling all over the world, dealing with problems caused by the bugs to Doors International's operations. When she'd arrived back in Washington, she'd been greeted by a message from Jonathan about the breakdown of the moral imperatives that the Taelons put in the CVIs. The message had mentioned that Melissa Park had managed to obtain a brain tissue sample from the UK Companion-Protector, Lt. Siobhan Beckett, and that she'd run a full set of simulations on it, all of which had come up with the same basic response. The message had also mentioned that Lt. Beckett had died due to the full breakdown of her CVI - but that she, like Sandoval two years ago, had been free of the moral imperative before her death. 

_But why on earth would Liam visit her grave?_ Renee wondered, frowning. _And for that matter,_ she added to herself, _just how did Melissa acquire those brain tissue samples?_

The sound of Seamus clearing his throat brought her attention back to the conversation. "Will there be anythin' else, Ms. Palmer?" he inquired. 

Renee shook her head. "Just keep your eyes and ears open and let me know if Major Kincaid turns up within the next two weeks," she replied. 

"Verra well," Seamus answered, and disconnected. 

Leaning back in her chair, Renee crossed her legs and stared out through the glass wall of her office. This was not good. This was not good at all. 

_I've got to do something. I can handle a lot, but not this much!_

Just then, she heard the door to her office open and looked up to see Doors walk in. 

"Well?" he demanded. "Have you found him yet?" 

Renee gritted her teeth. "No, not yet. Augur suggested I check Ireland, but he doesn't seem to be there. I _did_ find out, however, that he visits there quite often." 

"Visiting Beckett's grave, most likely," Doors declared, scowling. 

"Why?" Renee demanded. "Why would he visit the grave of a Companion Protector?" 

"Presumably because she is - was - his mother," Doors replied. He sounded rather irritated, but whether it was because of her question, Liam's disappearance, just the thought of Liam at all, or something completely unrelated, was something that Renee couldn't tell. "How are those security upgrades coming?" 

Renee pulled her thoughts away from the bombshell that Doors had just dropped - Liam's mother was, or rather had, also been a Companion Protector - and focused her attention back on her responsibilities to Doors International. "It's underway. We're moving the top projects over to secure, internal networks in order of priority. The co-venture with Reynaud got put directly on an internal network, and the techs are currently moving all information concerning Project Illusion over. Lambda's next." 

"Good. Now, remember we've got that meeting with Henri on Monday. And if Kincaid isn't in Ireland, then he must be somewhere else. Broaden your search." 

With that, Doors walked out. 

"Great," Renee muttered out loud. "Broaden my search? How the hell am I supposed to do that without alerting either the Taelons or the Resistance?" 

Slumping down in her chair, she tried to work out what to do next. 

* * *

Liam opened his eyes slowly and stared blankly up at the ceiling for a long moment. The light coming in the eastern window was pale and grey, and he could hear the sound of rain falling on the roof. 

The weather seemed perfectly suited to his mood. He didn't really want to get up this morning - he wasn't sure that he wanted to face Sandoval just yet. The revelation from yesterday about Lili was still reverberating through his mind. 

Lili was alive. And she was on Jaridia, sent by Sandoval to be, in essence, a breeder. 

And there was nothing he could do about it. It had been done, and was impossible to undo. 

_"I've been in... occasional contact with the Jaridians...."_

Liam sat bolt upright, ignoring the momentary jab of pain from his shoulder, as the memory of what Sandoval had told him last night popped into his mind. If Sandoval had been in contact with the Jaridians, then maybe he could let Liam contact Lili, talk to her - find out for himself how she _really_ was. 

The idea of action managed to spur him into getting up, and he carefully got dressed and walked downstairs, feeling better now than he had since Sandoval had sprung this on him yesterday afternoon. 

Liam wasn't overly surprised to find Sandoval in the kitchen, making breakfast. For some reason - one that Sandoval's memories didn't give him, and Liam didn't understand - Sandoval enjoyed cooking. To Liam, it was just a way of making the food that was needed - he took after Beckett in that respect, although he had Sandoval's taste in food - but Sandoval seemed to regard it as an art, one that was worth spending a great deal of time on. 

"Morning," Liam said, as he sat down at the table. He had a feeling that towering over his father while he made his request wouldn't be the best idea in the world. 

Sandoval looked up from the batter he was stirring, and gave Liam a faint, almost hesitant smile. "Good morning, Liam." Then a flicker of a frown crossed his face. "How are you feeling?" 

"Okay," Liam replied, puzzled by the question - and the frown. "There isn't much pain this morning, so I haven't taken any painkillers. I think that they're what's making me so tired." 

"As long as the pain doesn't get too bad, that's all right - but the minute it starts to get worse, you're to take a dose," Sandoval ordered. Then, to Liam's surprise, he placed the mixing bowl on the counter, walked over to the table, and placed the back of his hand against Liam's forehead. 

"Sandoval?" Liam questioned. He saw a faint, hurt expression cross his father's face for a moment, but was unsure what it meant, and didn't think that asking would be the best idea. 

"Can I take a look at your arm?" his father asked, rather than answering the question. 

"Why? What's going on?" Liam demanded. 

"I want to take a look at the wound you received from the crossbow bolt. You've been running a low-level fever for the past few nights, and I want to make sure that it hasn't gotten infected." 

"Fever?" Liam repeated, bewildered. "I don't _feel_ hot." 

"You're not, at the moment," Sandoval agreed. "For some reason, it only seems to be at night. Dr. Park noticed it Sunday night, and I noticed it Monday, as well as last night." 

"Doesn't sound like an infection," Liam commented, not sure why he felt the need to stall for time, but feeling it strongly nonetheless. 

"And it may not be. But I'd rather check and know for certain, than not check and have it turn out to be something we could have prevented." 

Liam unconsciously rubbed the palm of his left hand with his thumb as he thought. Sandoval had a definite point. "Okay," he agreed reluctantly. 

Sandoval frowned again - probably at his tone - but didn't say anything as Liam carefully eased his right arm out of the sling and began to fumble with the cuff buttons. After a moment, he shook his head and leaned forward. "Here, let me." 

Liam nodded and watched as Sandoval made quick work of the buttons, and then carefully rolled his sleeve up to expose the gauze covering the bolt wound. "This is probably going to sting a little," he warned, as he started to pull the gauze - and the accompanying medical tape - off. Abruptly he stopped and gave Liam a curious look, as though something had just occurred to him. "Why didn't she just use Taelon sealer?" 

Liam worried at his lower lip for a moment before replying, nervous. He didn't mean to be - after all, Sandoval had said the fact that he was part-Kimera didn't matter to him - but he was. "The first time she tried a sealer on me, I had a... bad reaction," he said finally. It was something of an understatement - he'd nearly ended up destroying the examining room with his shaqarava before Dr. Park had managed to pull it off. 

Sandoval simply nodded, and resumed his task of pulling off the gauze, while Liam stared out the window, focusing on the trees he could see through the rain from where he was sitting. 

"Well," his father said, a moment later, "I don't think we have to worry about it getting infected." 

Liam blinked and looked back at Sandoval in surprise. "What do you mean?" 

"It looks as though it's pretty much healed," Sandoval replied calmly. 

Liam looked down at his arm, and felt himself pale when he saw the thin red line which had replaced the gaping wound that had been there only five days ago. 

He'd always known that he healed at a faster rate than ordinary humans. But there had been a great deal of damage done to his arm, although not as much as to his shoulder. Dr. Park, who knew about his rapid healing, had advised that it would probably be another week before his arm healed, and another two or three before his shoulder did so. 

"Liam?" Sandoval said, and Liam realized that he'd been silent for several minutes as he tried to come to grips with this. He took a deep breath and looked up to meet his father's eyes, and was relieved to see no sign of revulsion or distaste in Sandoval's expression. 

"Sorry... I was a bit... surprised," Liam managed after a moment. 

Sandoval simply nodded and stood up. "Well, it's good to know that there's no chance of infection - and we won't need to bandage it back up. 

"Now, what type of pancakes would you like? We've got blueberries, strawberries, I could cut up some apples... or you could have them plain, if you prefer." 

Liam stared as Sandoval headed back to the stove. Whatever reaction he'd been expecting, and he wasn't entirely sure what that was, it definitely wasn't this. He'd thought that Sandoval would start questioning him about it. 

"Liam? I need to get started before the frying pan gets too hot...." 

"Uh.... Blueberry, please," Liam replied slowly. 

"Blueberry it is." Sandoval picked up a small bowl from the far end of the counter and emptied it into the mixing bowl, stirred the batter a few more times, and then started pouring the batter into the frying pan. "It'll take about fifteen minutes or so to finish them. If you want to do something while you're waiting, feel free." 

Liam watched him for a few minutes. After the matter of his arm wound, he didn't feel entirely comfortable broaching the idea of Sandoval letting him communicate with Lili just yet. The two things had nothing to do with each other, but still.... 

"Why do you like to cook so much?" he asked, before he thought about what he was doing. 

Sandoval gave him a quizzical look. "What makes you think I like cooking?" he asked. 

Liam felt himself relaxing a bit - this type of conversation shouldn't have any pitfalls. "Maybe it's because you've been cooking fairly steadily since we got here," he pointed out in open amusement. "I mean, you could've picked up a bunch of ready-made meals at the supermarket, but instead you picked up the raw materials. I was wondering why." 

Sandoval nodded in understanding as he turned back to the frying pan in time to stop one of the pancakes from burning. "My mother taught me to cook," he explained. "She said knowing how to cook well was a valuable asset for anyone. We used to spend every second Saturday at home cooking and baking. I didn't get to spend all that much time with her during the week - she worked all day, and often didn't get home until late at night - so those Saturdays were special." 

Liam thought for a moment about that. Now that Sandoval had told him about it, he could identify the memories of those afternoons, and he found himself understanding his father's love of cooking much better. 

"My father used to tease me about becoming a Cordon Bleu chef one day," Sandoval went on, as he deftly flipped the pancakes onto a waiting plate and poured some more of the batter into the pan. "Either that, or owning a chain of restaurants." 

Those memories began to filter through to Liam as well, and he found himself relaxing even further under the combination of the easy conversation and the pleasant memories from his father. "It must have been fun," he said quietly. 

  


Sandoval hadn't said anything to Liam about the rapid healing of the wound caused by the crossbow bolt because he'd seen how pale his son had gone when he'd seen the faint line that was all that remained. It was obvious that something about it scared Liam, and while Sandoval was determined to find out exactly what it was, he didn't see any point in making Liam even more nervous by insisting they discuss it right then and there. He'd been trying to think of some other topic of conversation when Liam had asked him about his love of cooking. 

He shot a quick glance over at his son. Liam was staring into the distance, much as he had during part of their discussion last night, but his tone of voice wasn't the same. Rather than the mingled anger, pain, and nervousness he'd heard then, all he heard now was what sounded like wistfulness. 

Then, thinking about what he had just said, and who he'd said it to, he realized that that was most likely _exactly_ what it was. His parents had been there, willing to do things with him whenever they had the chance. Liam had never had that. Until now. 

"Have you ever cooked pancakes before, Liam?" 

Liam's head jerked up and he stared at Sandoval, open surprise on his face. "Uh... no?" 

"Well, then, now's an excellent time to start. I've already made a few, so the pan is nicely heated and there's not too much left in the bowl. Why don't you come over here and make the rest of them?" 

The surprise gave way to confusion, but Liam stood up and came over, then stopped by the stove, looking from Sandoval to the mixing bowl to the pan and back again to Sandoval, obviously puzzled. 

"Here. You should be able to use your left hand just fine for this. Take the bowl and pour enough batter into the pan to cover about half of it," Sandoval instructed. 

Liam obediently took the bowl, his confusion still showing, and followed Sandoval's instructions. 

"Now, take the spatula...." 

* * *

Liam curled up on the couch and picked up Castle of Wizardry, opening it to the page he'd been at when Sandoval had come in after his walk yesterday. Sandoval was busy washing the dishes they'd used, and he'd practically ordered Liam to, 'get out of the kitchen and let me finish up in here'. 

He didn't start reading immediately, however. Instead, his thoughts went back to breakfast. 

It had been... weird. 

First of all, of course, had been the matter of the fact that he was apparently becoming feverish at night. He honestly had no idea what was going on with that, although he had the sneaking suspicion that it had something to with his sudden increased speed of healing, the reappearance of his shaqarava, and the change to his scans that Dr. Park had noticed. 

Then, there had been the matter of his suddenly having healed almost completely from the wound caused by the crossbow bolt - in only five days, as opposed to the week and a half that Dr. Park had predicted; and his father's ignoring the impossibility of it completely. 

Followed by that cooking lesson. 

Liam had to admit that he had actually enjoyed the lesson a great deal; and the pancakes he had made seemed to have tasted even better than Sandoval's. He'd mentioned that, and his father had laughed and told him that it was because _he_ had made them. It didn't really make much sense - after all, the fact was that Sandoval was the better cook, by far, and this was the first time that he had ever made pancakes - but Sandoval had said that that was why. 

But he kept coming back to the other incidents during breakfast: the mention of the fever; his wound; the way Sandoval's memories had seemed to flow so smoothly, when he'd always had a great deal of difficulty accessing them before.... 

Something was changing in him - something that he didn't understand. And it was scaring him. 

* * *

The bell over the door of the shop rang softly as the door opened, and Ali McPherson looked up from where she was arranging some of the latest shipment of books - and suppressed a groan of dismay as she saw who was standing there. 

The _last_ person she wanted to see at the moment was Grant Fellowes. 

"Ali!" he greeted her warmly. "I was hoping to find you here!" 

Ali kept her expression and tone as professional as she could manage, wondering if he would ever take the hint. "Mr. Fellowes," she replied. "How can I help you? I'm afraid the Virgil hasn't come in yet." 

"I'm not here about the Virgil, actually," Fellowes replied. He reached into his pocket, and with a flourish, pulled out two pieces of paper. "I've got two tickets to tonight's performance of Aida, and I was wondering if you would care to join me?" 

Ali forced a smile, giving herself a silent reminder that Fellowes was one of Janine's friends. "I'm afraid not, Mr. Fellowes. I don't care for opera." 

"Come on, Ali, it'll be fun," Fellowes continued persuasively. "We'll go for dinner beforehand, and--" 

"No, thank you," Ali said firmly. "Why don't you ask Janine? I know for a fact that she enjoys opera." Barely aware of what she was doing, she began rubbing the base of her left ring finger, where her wedding band had rested. Twisting it had been a nervous habit of hers back when-- She cut the thought off abruptly. 

"To be honest," Fellowes was saying, "I'd much prefer your company to Janine's." 

Ali shook her head as the door opened again, and a customer walked in. "I'm sorry, Mr. Fellowes, but I'm not interested." Then, before he could continue to try to persuade her, or even make his oft-repeated request that she call him 'Grant', she walked over to the new arrival. "Good morning, Mrs. Yeung." 

"Ms. McPherson," the elderly lady replied, nodding. "I believe you called concerning my request?" 

"That's right," Ali declared, relieved to have a legitimate reason to ignore Fellowes. "We just received a shipment from a Seattle estate sale, and it included a copy of the Mark Twain that you've been looking for. If you'll follow me...." She led Mrs. Yeung into the back room, where they kept the special orders, paying no attention to Fellowes as she walked past him. Luckily, he knew better than to bother her while she was dealing with a customer. 

It was a matter of moments to find the Mark Twain, and Ali smiled as she watched Mrs. Yeung examine it carefully. She loved books - always had - and loved old books most of all. She'd even introduced Ron to the pleasures of collecting old, rare books-- 

Again she cut the thought off before it could finish. This was _not_ the time to be thinking about any of that, especially not with Fellowes just outside. 

As the daughter of a minor politician and the wife of a law enforcement officer, she'd developed a definite distaste for reporters. Oh, she knew that there _were_ good, honest reporters out there, but most of her experiences had been with the ones who were only after the sensational and sleazy stories, rather than the truth. 

For the past two years, of course, she'd had other reasons to avoid reporters. If her identity was ever discovered.... 

"Excellent condition," Mrs. Yeung declared, snapping her out of her thoughts. "I'll be delighted to take it." 

Ali smiled. She genuinely liked Mrs. Yeung, and the elderly woman had been looking for this particular edition for several years now. "In that case...." She gestured toward the main part of the shop. 

Coming out of the back, Ali was relieved to see that Janine had arrived, and had engaged Fellowes in conversation. She finalized Mrs. Yeung's purchase swiftly, and walked her to the door, discussing the possibility of finding a few other treasures in the lot from the estate sale as she did so. 

Once she'd closed the door behind Mrs. Yeung, she turned around and caught Janine's eye. 

"What is it?" Janine asked quietly, walking over to her. 

"I'd like to take a bit of a break," Ali said, equally quietly. The last thing she wanted right now was for Fellowes to offer to join her. "Take a bit of a walk around the park...." 

"Go ahead. You were here all yesterday without one," Janine declared. 

A faint smile crossed Ali's face. "Thanks, Janey. I'll be back a bit later." 

"Take your time. I'll be here for the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon, and now that you've got most of that latest shipment set up on display, there isn't that much else to do today." 

Ali smiled again, a bit wider this time, and then headed out, crossing the street and walking straight into the park. Finding a hiking trail, she started along it, distantly aware that she was rubbing the base of her ring finger again. 

By the time she'd arrived in Vancouver, over a year and a half ago, she'd managed to push the memories of her previous life into a back corner of her mind. She still remembered everything, of course, but the memories themselves tended to stay distant. 

Or they had, at least, until three weeks ago, when she'd met Companion-Protector Major Liam Kincaid. 

For some reason, the young Companion-Protector who'd stopped in to buy a book three Fridays ago had brought all those distant memories to the surface. Now, rather than just remembering general things that had happened, she would be... oh, dusting a bookshelf, and suddenly would recall the way Ron had wrinkled his nose in an effort not to sneeze the first time she'd shown him her father's library; or she'd be cooking dinner, and the image would pop into her head of Ron twirling her around the kitchen, laughing, as he tried to tempt her into trying one of those bizarre roast beef and grilled cheese sandwiches of his... 

It wasn't that Major Kincaid looked like Ron - nothing could be farther from the truth - or even that he was a Companion-Protector. She'd listened to news reports about the Taelons, seen Ron - or rather, 'Agent Sandoval' - giving interviews, and none of it had affected her this way. 

No, it was something about Kincaid's mannerisms, his body language, that had reminded her so forcefully of Ron. The way he'd handled the copy of Oliver Twist he'd bought - for Sandoval, she suspected; Ron's birthday had been the Tuesday after Major Kincaid had been by, _and_ he was extremely fond of Dickens.... His actions and behaviour had been so much like Ron before the implantation that the sudden rush of memories was, perhaps, not all that unexpected. 

It was, however, very difficult to deal with. She'd loved Ron with all her heart; when he'd betrayed her like that, putting her in the asylum, she'd been so stunned that she hadn't even tried to fight it all that much. 

Then, when he'd rescued her.... She'd managed to get her hopes back up, only to have them dashed again when it had been explained to her by Boone and the Liberation that Ron _had_ to be re-implanted to save his life, and that they had to give him an implant with a motivational imperative for it to work.... 

She'd followed the Liberation's instructions and suggestions like an automaton for the first two months after that, before she'd come to her senses and decided that it was time for her to make a life for herself - a life where she wouldn't be in danger of being used by the Liberation for their own purposes. They hadn't fooled her; even if Boone - and perhaps that hacker... Augur, she thought his name was - had been genuinely willing to help her, Jonathan Doors and Captain Marquette had seen her as a possible pawn to use against Ron if necessary. Despite what he'd done to her, she hadn't wanted that. Not when the first thing he'd done when he was free of the motivational imperative was get her out of the asylum. 

So she'd used everything he'd taught her to set up several new identities, and then made the ones that the Liberation had given her disappear. It had been reasonably easy to do; and when she'd been certain there was no connection between the Liberation identities and Alison McPherson, she'd moved here and started her new life. A life that had no connection to FBI Special Agent and Companion-Protector Ronald Sandoval. 

Except now it did. She couldn't go anywhere or do anything without her memories ambushing her. And the news reports of the past week - the attacks on Companion personnel, especially Major Kincaid - had made it even worse. 

Stopping, Ali took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. She was just going to have to live with this. The memories weren't going to go away again, now that they'd been dredged up... so she would just have to cope as best she could, and try not to think about it as much as possible. It would be hard - but she had no doubt that she could do it if she had to. And she had to. 

* * *

Sandoval stood in the doorway to the den, wincing slightly at the similarity to yesterday morning. Like yesterday, Liam was curled up on the couch, with Castle of Wizardry in one hand... but he wasn't reading. Instead, he seemed to be staring off into space, and hadn't even noticed that Sandoval was there; or, at least, he wasn't acknowledging Sandoval at all. 

Walking over to the fireplace, Sandoval lit the fire he'd laid earlier, and then sat down in the leather chair. Liam still hadn't given any indication that he knew Sandoval was there, and he was beginning to get a bit worried. 

"Liam?" 

"Hmm?" his son murmured absently. 

"Are you all right?" 

Liam blinked, and seemed to come back to himself. "Sorry, Sandoval..." he said quietly; "'fraid I didn't notice you come in." 

"That's all right - remember, we're on vacation, and McKenna's imprisoned on the mothership; no need for complete alertness at the moment," Sandoval reassured him, once again feeling that twinge at Liam's apparent determination to call him by his name. "You appear to be a bit preoccupied." 

Liam worried at his lower lip. "I..." he started, and then looked away, falling silent again. 

"Are you all right?" Sandoval repeated. He had the feeling that Liam hadn't really heard him the first time. 

"Yeah...." 

_This is so damn awkward.... I thought that by getting the issue of Captain Marquette out of the way first, I'd be able to see how he reacted, and then plan the rest of the vacation - and the revelations - based on that reaction. But it isn't working._ Sandoval considered for a long moment. _I know my colleague, Major Kincaid. I can predict how he'll react to situations, how he'll deal with threats, how he'll act around me...._

_I don't know my son, Liam. I don't know anything about him, except his public persona and who his other parents were. That's what I'm supposed to be doing here... getting to know Liam. Not just telling him about what I've been doing. Only I don't have any real idea where or how to start._ He sighed, and then blinked. 

_There's an idea, Ron - just ask him! Let him decide what to tell you, at least at first...._

"Now it's my turn to ask if you're all right," Liam said, studying his face. 

"I was just thinking...." 

"About what?" Liam asked, his tone genuinely curious. 

Sandoval leaned back in the chair and glanced at the flames in the fireplace. "About the reason we're here. I want to get to know you - _you_ , not 'Major Kincaid' - but, to be honest, I'm not sure how to go about doing that. I don't even know what questions to ask." 

Liam blinked in surprise. "Umm...." He stared off into space again for a few long minutes, then returned his attention to Sandoval. "I... uh... don't really know what to say to that...." He paused again. "Why not just ask me what... well, what you want to know?" 

Sandoval shook his head. "We'd be here for much longer than two weeks if I did that - I want to know everything," he admitted softly. 

Liam flushed bright red at that. 

_All right, so what's most important? Not the Resistance... and I don't want to ask him about Ha'gel and the Kimera just yet. I think that's going to have to wait; it seems to be a sore point at the moment. So of the rest...._ "Da'an knows, doesn't he." 

Liam nodded slowly. "Yeah, he knows. He's been keeping it a secret from Zo'or and the rest of the Synod from the beginning." 

"When did he find out - and how?" 

Liam grimaced. "When... at Boone's funeral, just after I saved him from the replicant attack. How...." The grimace deepened. "When I was helping him up off the ground...." 

"...Where you tackled him in the first place..." Sandoval put in. 

His son sighed. "We... umm... Shared. Sort of. Not a full Sharing, but enough of one that he recognized... what I am." 

Sandoval thought back to the events of that first week after Ha'gel. "While you were in the Embassy, waiting for the replicant... that game of foovlasha?" 

Liam nodded. "That was when he let me know that he knew." He grinned faintly. "I'd figured that out beforehand, of course... part of the reason I went to Boone's funeral was to attract Da'an's attention, though I hadn't really intended to do it that way. When you called... Lili..." he hesitated for a moment, and then went on, "...to tell her to order me to report to the mothership for that interview with you and Zo'or, I knew it had worked." 

Sandoval nodded, though he wasn't terribly happy now with his memories of that interview... hell, with _any_ of the memories of the way he'd treated Liam, especially during those early days. "Weren't you worried that he would report you to the Synod?" 

Liam shook his head carefully. "Nope. I knew he wouldn't. I...." He stopped. 

"Liam?" 

He started worrying his lower lip. "I just... knew he wouldn't." 

It was obvious that Liam did _not_ want him to ask _how_ he'd known, and Sandoval suspected that it might have to do with his Kimera heritage. So he decided to change the subject. 

The problem was that, while he wanted to keep the current conversation as neutral as possible, he wasn't sure that he could actually do it. There were so few subjects he could think of that qualified as neutral; all of them seemed to have too many possible pitfalls. Captain Marquette; the Resistance; Liam's Kimera heritage... all of it seemed to be inextricably wound together. He hadn't expected his question about Da'an to enter forbidden territory so quickly, and he really didn't want to force anything. 

Perhaps if he opened himself to questions as well, it would help.... "Is there anything you want to ask me?" 

  


Liam worried at his lower lip again. It would've been hard to miss the fact that Sandoval was deliberately trying to respond to his unease by steering away from certain subjects, the same way he'd ignored the matter of his healed arm at breakfast. The problem was, Liam wasn't sure why he was feeling so sensitive about the matter of his Kimera heritage. Was it just that despite the fact that his father appeared to have accepted that he was a Kimera hybrid, he was still scared of rejection? Or did it have to do with the fact that he'd been so certain that his Kimeran abilities were fading, only to be proved wrong? Was it something else entirely? Some combination of the above? 

Perhaps it was just the simple fact that this entire situation was really, really awkward and uncomfortable. 

Sandoval was waiting patiently for him to ask something, and Liam had no idea what to say. There was no point in asking him about something that had happened before Liam was born.... _Well, no real point, in terms of finding something out..._ Liam corrected himself. Not with the memories becoming so much more accessible. There might be some other reasons, like prompting the memories, or learning about how his father saw some of his memories now - but Liam didn't want to ask about those. At the same time, however, he wasn't sure he really wanted to know anything about what his father had been doing _since_ then. He and the Resistance had discovered enough for him to know that a lot of it wasn't good. 

_But there is one thing..._ came the flicker of a thought. Something he'd been wondering since he'd seen the card and the piece of paper with his directions on it sitting on Sandoval's desk. 

"When... when did you figure out about me?" he asked hesitantly. He couldn't seem to actually say the words 'son' or 'father' yet.... 

"The first part of it... that you're my son..." Liam was amazed at how easily those words seemed to come to Sandoval, "I figured out Sunday afternoon. That's when I noticed the similarities between the birthday card you gave me and the directions you'd written out to The Happy Greek. Then Dr. Curzon called...." He paused, and then shrugged, almost as if to say, 'What the hell'. 

"I'd already found out that you weren't the real Liam Kincaid, so I was going to run a DNA-based search to see if I could find out who you really were. I gave the handkerchief I used to bind your arm to Dr. Curzon to extract your DNA, and she called me back just after I'd figured it out to congratulate me on finding you." 

_How did he find out that I'm not Kincaid?_ Liam wondered. _Does he know who Kincaid really is?_ However, those questions could wait - for the moment, at least. He _would_ have to ask it - he was going to have to let the colonel know - but it didn't have to be just yet. 

"What about the rest?" he asked quietly. 

"About Siobhan being your mother - I figured that out Sunday night, when I went to get the clothes from your apartment for Monday." 

Liam glanced away, towards the fire, as he remembered what he'd thought when Sandoval had tossed the duffle bag on his hospital bed Monday morning. "So you _did_ see the pictures," he murmured. 

"Yes." Out of the corner of his eye, Liam saw Sandoval lean forward. "As for Ha'gel... that I figured out Monday night." He paused. "You were... having a nightmare, and calling out in a language I didn't recognize. It wasn't human, and it wasn't Eunoia. Then my CVI kicked in, and I remembered a few things, including a discussion I had with Zo'or concerning your destruction of the Jaridian replicant, and how Da'an had rejoined the Commonality." 

"And Zo'or told you that only Kimera were able to separate from and rejoin the Taelon Commonality," Liam finished. He really didn't want to think about the nightmare Sandoval had mentioned... even the hint of it sent that same icicle of terror down his spine; the terror of being abandoned by the one who had created him. 

_"Va'nei, liea o'onarr!"_

Liam shivered as the words burst into his memory. He knew that they were the ones he'd spoken in the dream, begging Ha'gel to stay, to not abandon him.... 

"What's wrong?" came Sandoval's voice, and Liam forced himself to look over at his human father. Sandoval hadn't abandoned him; he'd stayed, he'd accepted Liam as his son. 

He shivered again, though he wasn't sure why, and then a moan escaped as his shoulder suddenly burst into agony.


	4. Friday PM, Week 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a note in response to a comment (on one of the sites).... No, there isn't very much on-screen action in "Eye of the Storm" - there's not meant to be. Its purpose is as a transition story between In Search of the Truth and the (still untitled) sequel to EotS.

Lieutenant Colonel Gary McKenna, US Army Rangers, lay on his pallet and stared up at the ceiling of his cell on the Taelon mothership. He felt sluggish from all the drugs that had been pumped into him over the past two and a half days, but at least he had the satisfaction of knowing that he hadn't broken so far.

He had to admit that the doctor Sandoval had brought in to interrogate him was good. One of the better interrogators McKenna had met, in fact; just not good enough to overcome him. Sandoval himself might have been; but according to a conversation he'd overheard between the doctor and the Volunteer captain who was assisting him, Sandoval was on vacation. Making up for lost time, presumably, since he'd _originally_ gone on vacation just before McKenna had made his first move. 

It had been Sandoval taking the vacation in the first place that had prompted him to move when he had. If he'd attacked Kincaid while Sandoval was on duty, the Taelons' puppet agent would have had no choice but to respond; the Taelons would have insisted on it. By holding off until Sandoval had apparently left the scene for two weeks, McKenna had assumed that he'd be able to target Kincaid, take him out, and be comfortably away before Sandoval came back. After all, it was common knowledge - in the right circles - that the two Protectors disliked each other intensely, mirroring their Companions' attitudes. 

_I forgot the Golden Rule; to assume makes an ass of 'u' and me. Stupid of me._

It hadn't gone as planned at all. For one thing, Kincaid had been surprisingly hard to target, and seemed to have an amazing physical resilience; and Sandoval had returned to duty as soon as he'd heard about the attack. That hadn't been anticipated at all. 

_I should have done so; should have made plans in case Sandoval did interfere. But he's attempted to kill Kincaid so many times himself that none of us ever considered he might react the way he did._

_There's only one bright spot in this entire fiasco, and that's the fact that at least I know we still have a plant on the mothership._

McKenna shifted, apparently reaching up to adjust the neck of the prison garb they'd given him, and his fingers brushed against the piece of paper he'd discovered on his lunch tray two days ago. 'Death to traitors.' It was a reminder that he wasn't alone, and that even if he should fail, there'd be another to take his place and deal with both Taelons and traitors as they deserved. 

* * *

Zo'or waved his hand, impatiently dismissing the datastream he'd been studying, and glared over toward where Colonel Ahmid, currently on loan to him from Si'al while Agent Sandoval was on vacation, was standing. 

Zo'or didn't like Sandoval. The human was too sly - too much like him, in some ways - to be trusted. And yet, he had both ambition, through which Zo'or could control him now that his motivational imperative was inoperable, and a combination of a canny intelligence and knowledge of his own species that had assisted Zo'or's endeavours many times. Sandoval had a tendency to challenge Zo'or, which - although it added to the sense of distrust he felt - also provided him with a much needed foil. It was, reluctant as he was to admit it, thanks to Agent Sandoval that the Taelons' situation on Earth wasn't worse than it was. 

The two previous times when Agent Sandoval had not been available, he'd had Major Kincaid as his acting Protector. While the major wasn't as devious or as controllable as Agent Sandoval, he was - at the very least - a known quantity. It was one of the reasons why Zo'or had, when Agent Sandoval had mentioned the possibility of putting Major Kincaid in charge of the training program for the pilots, decided to do even more. 

Not that he trusted Kincaid any more than he trusted Agent Sandoval, though for different reasons. Kincaid's loyalty was to Da'an, not to himself or the Synod. 

At the same time, however, Kincaid had saved his life at least twice in the past month at risk to himself - even if the second time, it had been Kincaid who had been the real target. That demonstrated a willingness to sacrifice which was astonishing in one who had no functional implant. Zo'or was determined to know more about the major, and the reasons for his devotion. 

However, that would have to wait until Major Kincaid returned from medical leave. In the meantime.... 

"Colonel Ahmid, have you been able to discover precisely how the press was able to discover what happened after my meeting with Si'al last week?" he demanded. 

Ahmid turned to face him. "Not yet, sir," the Egyptian Protector replied. "I have people working on it in Cairo, and I have been investigating at this end; at present, there is nothing else to report." 

"Then I suggest you work harder," Zo'or said curtly. 

He could see that the Protector wasn't happy, but there was no argument. 

"Of course, sir," the colonel replied, and turned back to the datastream he'd been working at. 

"Zo'or," came a quiet voice from behind him, and Zo'or turned to see Da'an standing next to his command chair. 

"Da'an," he replied coolly. "Did you wish something?" 

"I was curious as to what progress has been made with the interrogation of Colonel McKenna," Da'an said calmly, ignoring Zo'or's tone, as he always did. 

"Colonel Ahmid?" Zo'or questioned. 

The colonel looked around, and then made a slight obeisance to Da'an. "Yes, sirs?" 

"What progress has been made with the interrogation of the prisoner?" 

"According to Captain Jardine, as of this morning, none of the interrogation drugs that the doctor has attempted have been successful. However, I was informed that the sessions have given the doctor invaluable information concerning the prisoner's reactions to the various drugs, and he believes that it will be possible to create a new drug that will bypass the prisoner's defenses. He is currently working with the healer Mit'gai on developing the drug in question, and Captain Jardine informed me that, according to the doctor, the new drug will be available for its first tests in five days. Captain Jardine has located some prisoners upon whom the doctor will be able to test the drug." 

"Excellent," Zo'or declared, momentarily satisfied. Something, at least, was going right - and if this doctor's drug was successful, it could prove to be extremely useful. 

Turning back to Da'an, he studied his parent's face for a moment. "Is that satisfactory, Da'an?" 

His parent simply nodded, and then, without another word, turned and left the bridge. He'd been doing that a great deal lately.... 

Pushing the issue of Da'an's behaviour to the back of his mind, Zo'or called the datastream he'd been studying back up, and began to work. 

* * *

His face was damp. That was the first thing that occurred to Liam as he regained consciousness. There was something cool and wet resting on his forehead; it took Liam a good minute or two, during which he kept his eyes closed, to figure out that it was probably a washcloth or a towel. He didn't understand what it was doing on his face, however. 

Then the washcloth - or whatever it was - was removed, and a hand touched his forehead gently. It was strangely cool, and Liam felt a touch of alarm as he realized that it had to be Sandoval's hand. Why exactly was his father's hand so cool? Was something wrong? 

He opened his eyes slowly - his eyelids felt heavy, as though they were weighted down - but for a long moment, all he could see was a blur of colour. He blinked, then blinked again, and the blur slowly resolved itself into Sandoval's face. His father looked openly concerned, Liam realized, and wondered why. 

"Liam?" Sandoval said, and there was no mistaking the worry in his tone. 

Liam frowned, bewildered. Something was obviously wrong, but why was Sandoval so concerned about him? He wasn't the one who was so cold.... 

Abruptly, Liam realized that he was lying down on the couch, and he couldn't remember falling asleep. Maybe Sandoval _did_ think he had reason to be concerned. 

"Sa'hedra, Va'nei," he mumbled, wanting to reassure his father, and started to try to sit up. His frown deepened; it felt as though he was moving through molasses. "Na'heira si'ough?" 

It was Sandoval's turn to frown as he placed his hand against Liam's chest, keeping him still. "I'm sorry, Liam, I can't understand what you're saying. How are you feeling?" 

Even more confused by the fact that he'd apparently spoken in the wrong language, Liam blinked again. "'M all right," he mumbled. 

Sandoval shook his head. "No, you're _not_ 'all right', Liam. You're running a very high fever." 

"Fever?" Liam repeated. _Wasn't he saying something about a fever earlier? This morning?_

_Is that why his hand feels so cool?_

"That's right." Sandoval glanced away, but before Liam could protest, he heard a splashing sound. A moment later, a piece of dark cloth appeared in his field of view, and was gently put on his forehead. Back on his forehead, Liam realized - this was what he'd felt when he'd woken up. "Your temperature is currently 104, and you've been unconscious for nearly two hours. I was starting to get ready to call Dr. Park; if it gets any higher, I'm going to have to." 

Sandoval sighed. "I don't know what's causing it. I re-checked your arm, which is still healed, and checked your shoulder, which isn't infected either." 

"'Course not... can't get infected," Liam mumbled. His thoughts felt as sluggish as his limbs, and he was having trouble focusing on what his father was saying. "Too alien...." He didn't notice the fleeting frown that crossed Sandoval's face at that statement, or the slow dawning of realization in his eyes. 

"So we know it's not an infection causing this," Sandoval said after a moment. "Do you have any idea what might be wrong?" 

His father's face was blurring again, and Liam squinted in an effort to convince his eyes to focus. "Ever'thing's changing... don't know an'more...." He could hear his voice slurring, was aware that he was starting to slide back into unconsciousness. "Hard t'think... focus... please, ki'sha nassough, Va'nei...." _So tired...._

"Liam, look at me!" 

Liam blinked, trying to focus, but it was hard. His eyes kept wanting to close, and stay shut. "Tired..." he repeated. 

"Try not to fall asleep on me, okay? Liam?" 

Liam fought to keep his eyes open. Sandoval sounded really worried. "'M trying...." 

"Good. Keep trying," his father ordered. "I'll be right back, and I don't want you going to sleep while I'm gone." 

With that, Sandoval stood up and headed for the door. 

Liam bit his lower lip, trying to use the sensation to help keep him focused even as he wondered what his father was doing. His thoughts seemed so sluggish... he hated that. He'd never experienced anything like this before. Of course, he'd never had a fever before, either.... 

He could hear the sound of water running. What _was_ his father doing? "San'oval?" he called - or tried to, at least. 

"I'll be just a minute, Liam," his father called back, over the sound of the water. 

"What're... you... doing?" Liam asked. 

The water stopped running, and Sandoval walked in carrying a bowl. 

"Wha's... that?" 

"Cold water," his father replied. "Now that you're awake, we'll see if it helps better than cool water." 

Liam watched as he dunked the washcloth in the water and then squeezed it out before placing it against Liam's forehead. 

The cold was a shock, and Liam flinched away from it for a moment. Then, as the surprise passed, he realized that the cold felt good against his hot forehead, and relaxed into the sensation. 

"How does that feel?" his father asked. 

"Nice," Liam murmured. It was starting to cut through the fuzziness in his head, which he definitely appreciated. 

"Good," his father replied, and a surprisingly comfortable silence fell. 

Liam looked up at the ceiling, and let his thoughts wander where they would. Not surprisingly, it was in the direction of Lili and the Jaridians. "Sandoval?" he asked after a few minutes, pleased that he wasn't slurring his words anymore. 

"What is it?" his father asked patiently. 

"You said that you were in occasional contact with the Jaridians. Do you think... could I.... Would I be able to talk to Lili, next time you contact them?" 

  


Sandoval looked at his son carefully. He'd been expecting this question - he'd known from the beginning that Liam and Captain Marquette were close - but he wasn't entirely sure how best to answer. 

_Well, I already decided that honesty is the best policy when dealing with Liam...._

"I can certainly try to arrange it, but there are no guarantees. I've only spoken to her once," he replied. "And it may not be possible for a few months." 

"That's fine," Liam replied, and returned his attention to the ceiling. 

Sandoval sat back in his chair and directed his gaze out the window, not wanting to make his son nervous by staring at him. He'd been given quite a bit to think about over the last several minutes. 

His heart had almost stopped when Liam had collapsed with a moan of pain after his comment about the nightmare he'd been having Monday night. Then, when he had realized that Liam's fever was back, and _wasn't_ mild this time... he'd come very close to panicking. If Liam hadn't regained consciousness - and managed to become as lucid as he was now - he would definitely have called Dr. Park by this time. In fact, when Liam had started speaking to him in the Kimera language, as opposed to English, he'd started to reach for his global. 

Thinking about the Kimera made him wonder what 'va'nei' meant. Liam had used the word during his nightmare Monday, and he'd spoken it twice in the past quarter of an hour. 

That thought, in turn, led him back to what he'd originally been contemplating; what Liam had said about infections, while he was still half out of it. 

_"'Course not... can't get infected... too alien...."_

The way he'd said it... it explained a great deal about why Liam had been avoiding any discussion of his Kimera heritage, and the way he'd reacted when Sandoval had revealed that he knew the truth, not to mention why he'd thought he would be rejected. 

_What happened to convince him that being a hybrid was something to be ashamed of?_ Sandoval wondered. _Somehow, I don't think the only factor in that was the need to hide the truth from the Taelons._ Remembering Liam's smart-ass behaviour during the interview with himself and Zo'or - after Da'an had insisted that Liam be made his new Companion-Protector - Sandoval sighed softly. That had _not_ been the behaviour of someone who was ashamed of what they were; nor had it been an act. And while Liam had obviously grown up and become wiser in the ways of the world since then - after all, he could only have been a few days old, at most, at the time - Sandoval couldn't understand why that would have made him ashamed of his alien heritage. 

_No, I suspect that there is someone - or perhaps more than one person - behind this,_ he thought, as he leaned forward to take the washcloth and feel Liam's face. His skin was still hot, and Sandoval dunked the cloth in the cold water again before re-applying it to Liam's forehead. His son watched curiously, but seemed to be as comfortable with the silence at the moment as Sandoval was. In fact, he looked as though he was doing some thinking of his own. _Well, I'm going to find out who, and then... well, then we'll see._

"We'll leave that on for another few minutes, and then I want to take your temperature again," Sandoval said quietly. "With any luck, it will have gone down a bit by then; if it hasn't, it will be time to call Dr. Park." 

"Okay," Liam agreed, his voice equally quiet, but he clearly wasn't overly happy about the thought of Dr. Park interrupting their vacation. 

Well, Sandoval wasn't either, but.... "I'm worried, Liam," he admitted. "104 is approaching seriously dangerous, and that's what your temperature has been for just over two hours." 

Liam nodded, and then stared back up at the ceiling. Sandoval returned to his own thoughts, concerning Liam's reactions and feelings. 

_Something tells me I'm going to have my work cut out for me when it comes to convincing you about this shame thing..._ he reflected. _I'm going to do it, though. I don't care how long it's going to take; I'm going to make you understand that you have nothing to be ashamed of, Liam. Not your heritage, and certainly not your behaviour.... On the contrary, you should be proud of yourself. I know I am._

He was. It had been something of a surprise to him, but the fact was that Sandoval _was_ proud. Despite all the obstacles that had been put in his way, including the ones that Sandoval himself had thrown at him, Liam had survived and kept his secrets. Considering the nature of those obstacles, that Liam had done so - and done it so well - was definitely an accomplishment worth being proud of. _And I will tell you so. Not just yet - I don't think we're ready to get that personal, though I believe that we are getting there - but soon._

Then there was that other thing Liam had said, when Sandoval had asked him if he had any idea why he was so feverish.... _"Ever'thing's changing...."_

What had he meant by that? What was changing? 

Before Sandoval could pursue the question any further, Liam stirred, bringing him out of his reverie. "What is it?" 

"I'm feeling cooler now," Liam replied. "Do you think it worked?" 

Sandoval picked up the thermometer and placed it in Liam's mouth. His son scowled slightly, but waited patiently until it beeped. Sandoval removed it and checked the readout. "Ninety-eight point nine," he read out loud, and removed the cloth from Liam's forehead. It was close enough.... 

"That's normal for me," Liam said. "Dr. Park thinks...." He stopped. 

"Thinks what?" Sandoval prompted. Yes, he wanted to be careful around Liam for a while, didn't want to push him too much, but still... this involved his health. Sandoval needed to know as much as he could about that subject. 

Liam took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "She thinks that it's because the Kimera were an energy-based race. It's not enough of a difference to be all that obvious - she says that although normal human body temperature is ninety-eight point six, there is a certain amount of variation. Not much, but enough that I fall within the normal range." 

Sandoval nodded, and then glanced out the window. "Your temperature may be back to normal, but I want you to stay in for the rest of today - and tomorrow, if the rain continues. You got soaked last night, and that may be what triggered this." 

  


Liam nodded carefully in agreement as he gingerly used his left hand to help him sit up. He wasn't sure that Sandoval's assumption was right - in fact, he had a very strong feeling that it wasn't - but it felt strangely good to let someone else take charge for a while. It wasn't something that he'd ever experienced before. 

"And I want you to have some chicken broth," Sandoval continued. 

Then again... there were definitely some things to be said for being in charge of himself. Liam grimaced. "I'm sick and tired of soup!" 

"After two bowls five days ago?" his father countered. 

"I don't like it." If he could have crossed his arms over his chest, he would have; since he couldn't, he settled for giving Sandoval his best defiant glare. 

"Sulking won't work, Liam," Sandoval said firmly. "You've been sick; you _will_ eat the broth." 

" _Drink_ it, you mean. And I'm not sulking." 

His father stood up and started for the kitchen. "In that case, you're doing a remarkably good imitation. And whether you eat it or drink it, you _will_ have the broth. Besides, I think you'll find mine a great deal more palatable than the hospital's." 

Yes, there was _definitely_ a great deal to be said for _not_ letting other people take charge of you. 

Admittedly, his father was probably right that his broth would taste better than the hospital's - after all, he was an excellent cook. However, Liam still didn't want any. 

_And I am not sulking!_

Then Sandoval came back inside with two bowls. Despite himself, Liam felt his stomach grumble with hunger; the broth smelled good. Very good. 

His father smiled - not a smug smile, but a pleased one - and Liam found his irritation disappearing with a surprising rapidity. 

"I think you'll enjoy it," Sandoval said, as he put the bowls down on the table beside the couch, next to the bowl of water and the washcloth. "It's your grandmother's special recipe." 

Liam knew his surprise at the comment must have been very clear on his face, but his father didn't say anything about it as he handed Liam a spoon. 

_"It's your grandmother's secret recipe."_

This morning, Sandoval had referred to his parents as 'my mother' and 'my father'. Liam hadn't really expected anything different, even though Sandoval _had_ obviously accepted him; to hear him call his mother 'your grandmother' was... stunning. Certainly he'd never really thought of Sandoval's parents as his grandparents - that had been reserved for Beckett's - maybe because his father's parents had died several years before he was born, and his mother's were still alive? 

Absently taking a spoonful of the soup, still feeling stunned, Liam blinked. "This _is_ good!" he exclaimed out loud. 

"Of course it is," his father replied, a touch of lighthearted teasing in his voice. "After all, I made it, didn't I?" 

Liam grinned in surprised response to the relaxed tone of the words. He knew Sandoval had a strong sense of humour, of course - or, at least, he'd had one before his CVI had been implanted. He'd seen a few hints of it, occasionally - when something amusing happened at a function they were both at, or the like - but this was... unusual. 

"You're quiet," Sandoval commented after a few minutes. 

"Just thinking," Liam replied. He took another spoonful of the broth. It really was quite good - there was absolutely no comparison with the bland hospital soup he'd endured on Monday. 

"Is there anything in particular you'd like to do this afternoon, given that you're not going outside?" 

Liam thought for a long moment about that. While they'd been waiting for his fever to come down, he'd made a decision - one that he wasn't going to change his mind about. Thanks to the cold water, his mind had been clear when he'd made it. If they were going to be in all afternoon, that would make it the perfect time to broach the subject.... 

"While I was exploring the library yesterday, I noticed some board games," he said, a bit diffidently. "Would you mind a game of Monopoly?" 

His father gave him a surprising grin in response. "Sounds like a great idea to me. Once we've finished lunch, I'll get the game set up." 

* * *

Andrew frowned as he studied the information his search worm had managed to collect on 'Major Kincaid'. Aside from his public and military records - of which only the past fourteen months' worth of information actually applied to the major - there was very little data available on the man. 

He was credited for helping save everyone from the inter-dimensional bugs. He was mentioned in connection with the discovery of the source of Bliss, and the resolution of the hijacking of the Taelon mothership; and the much more recent disaster of Zo'or's interview with Eli Hanson. Other than those, Boone's funeral, and the recent spate of assassination attempts, the _only_ mentions of him were in the occasional police incident reports, when he helped with a crime involving Taelons or Taelon personnel - the most recent of those involving the deaths at the Cloister - and any news reports on Da'an's appearances, where he was usually just mentioned in a side note as being present in his capacity as Da'an's Protector. The man kept a lower profile than Ron did. 

Leaning back in his chair, Andrew returned his attention to the ceiling tiles as he thought carefully. 

Keeping that low a profile in as high profile a job as Protector to the North American Companion implied he had things to hide. 

There was the obvious, of course - the fact that he was _not_ Liam Kincaid - but Andrew had a feeling there was much more to it than that. What had Ron said? Something about knowing some of 'Kincaid's' secrets.... _"...I know he's hiding quite a few things - some of which I'm unofficially aware of."_

_'Unofficially aware of', huh? That tends to imply that it's something Ron doesn't want the Taelons to know about, but he didn't know that the major wasn't really Liam Kincaid... which says that it's something else. Since he's been thinking of bringing 'Kincaid' into the elite... that tends to imply that he doesn't think 'Kincaid' is the devoted servant of the Taelons he appears to be, which suggests... the Resistance._

_That makes sense... after all, the hacker, Augur, is associated with the Resistance. Still, even if 'Kincaid' is with the Resistance, they hate Ron... like most others, they see only the image presented to the world. So that still begs the question of why Ron has suddenly become so certain that he can trust 'Kincaid'._

Yes, his gut feelings told him that Ron was right to trust 'Kincaid', and he'd told his friend as much last Sunday, but still... while they were good, his instincts were _not_ infallible. And he needed to know for certain whether or not 'Kincaid' _could_ be trusted. 

Andrew sighed and shook his head. The old-fashioned detective work of following the paper trail hadn't really given him anything that he hadn't already known, which meant that he was going to have to think of something else. Something that would provide him with a definite answer. 

* * *

Liam grinned triumphantly as he landed on Park Place and handed his father the money to purchase the deed. 

Sandoval had won the first game they'd played; they were now on the second, and Liam had a slight edge in properties. He enjoyed games like this - when he got a chance to play at all, that was - games which involved a mixture of luck and skill. It made things more challenging for him. Strategy games were reasonably easy for him - as he'd discovered when he'd beaten Da'an at foovlasha that first day - and games of chance held no real interest. It was only when skill and chance were combined - no matter what the proportion of either - that he had to work at it. 

As his father gave him the deed and picked up the dice, Liam took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Time to follow through with the decision he'd made earlier. It would be hard, but he had the feeling that Sandoval wouldn't really be all that surprised - at least by the topic itself. He probably _would_ be surprised by Liam bringing it up, however.... 

"Can we talk?" Liam asked quietly, as Sandoval landed on Pennsylvania Railroad. 

He'd been right - Sandoval's expression showed a touch of surprise for a moment. "Of course," came the reply. "What would you like to talk about?" 

Another deep breath followed. "The Resistance." 

  


Sandoval blinked. He definitely hadn't been expecting Liam to mention the Resistance... especially not with the way he'd been avoiding discussing issues that could be considered 'sensitive' - and the Resistance definitely fell under that category. However, if Liam was willing to discuss it now.... "All right," he replied neutrally. "What about the Resistance?" 

His son hesitated for a moment, and then plunged in. "I'm... involved with the Resistance. Fairly... deeply involved." 

It was Sandoval's turn to hesitate, uncertain as to how he should respond to this statement. 

_Honestly,_ he reminded himself firmly. _You promised yourself to be honest with Liam._

"I know." When Liam stared at him, Sandoval continued, "I hate to have to be the one to tell you this, Liam, but you tend to have some trouble with subtlety. I'd suspected that you were connected to the Resistance even before the crackdown." He shrugged. "After it, I was certain. And then when I found Sister Elizabeth's diary.... She didn't provide too many details, but there was enough information in there to prove that you have a fairly high rank in the Resistance." 

Liam winced. "I... had a feeling you knew I was involved," he admitted after a minute or two of silence. "I didn't realize that you had... that much information. I... would have thought...." 

"That I would have told Zo'or?" Sandoval finished. He shook his head. "There are a number of reasons why I haven't. Some of them I want to discuss with you - later. Right now... I _do_ have a question for you, actually." 

Liam looked somewhat apprehensive. Not that that was much of a surprise; Sandoval knew that even considering the fact that he'd done nothing with his knowledge of Liam's affiliations - even before he'd discovered Liam's identity as his son - didn't necessarily mean that the rest of the Resistance was safe. But it seemed that Liam might have made the same sort of decision he had, to be completely honest. 

"What is it you want to know?" 

"The Resistance knows that you aren't really Kincaid, don't they." 

Liam hesitated again, picking up the dice and rolling them around in his hand. "Umm... some of them. The... higher-ranking ones - the cell leaders. _Some_ of them. Most members don't - they've only ever known me as Kincaid. That's the identity I've had since... well, always had, I guess. That's the identity I joined the Liberation under, and it didn't change when Doors started his presidential campaign and the Liberation became the Resistance." 

Sandoval frowned. "What about the gap in Kincaid's records? The last thing listed before you showed up at Boone's funeral was near the end of the S.I. War. That's four years." 

Liam looked puzzled, as though he didn't see where Sandoval was going with this. 

"I can't see Doors trusting you just because you had the identity of Boone's second-in-command," Sandoval explained. "Especially not with the unexplained gap in his records." 

"Doors has never trusted me," his son muttered sourly. 

"Then how did you end up joining the Liberation? If he didn't trust you, and didn't know that you aren't--" 

"Doors knows exactly who I am," Liam interrupted. "That's _why_ he's never trusted me." He scowled. 

Sandoval blinked, surprised. "He knows?" 

His son nodded. 

" _Exactly_ who you are?" 

Liam nodded again, and then tilted his head - the action he'd taken to substituting for a shrug. "Well, he knows about my parentage - you, Mother, and Ha'gel." 

Sandoval couldn't help noticing the way Liam called Beckett 'Mother' so easily, and he remembered the way Liam had called him 'Dad' last week, when they'd had dinner on the mothership and he'd had to order Liam to eat. At the time, Sandoval had thought it was simply a teasing joke. Now, almost more than anything, he wanted to hear Liam call him 'Dad' - or even 'Father' - again. 

But _right_ now, he wanted - no, he _needed_ \- to find out more about his son's relationship with the Resistance. "That still doesn't explain how you joined the Liberation, Liam. In fact, it makes it even more incomprehensible that Doors would allow it." 

Liam grimaced ruefully. "Doors didn't really have much of a choice in the matter. The way he saw it, it was either make me a member of the Liberation - and have some control over me because he was the leader of the Liberation - or let me go my own way. He didn't want that. Like I said, he's never trusted me." 

Sandoval leaned back in his chair and studied his son's face. "All right... so Doors knows who you really are, and let you join the Liberation because of that. So _how_ does he know who you are? Considering the fact that I _know_ the two of you don't get along, I can't see why you would have told him." 

The expression on Liam's face told him that he'd hit on something important. "Well...." Liam started rolling the dice around in his hand again. "HewastherewhenIwasborn," he blurted out rapidly. 

It took Sandoval a minute to decipher the words, and once he had, he stared at his son in shocked surprise. "He was there when you were born?" he repeated. 

Liam nodded. 

"How is that possible?" 

"I... was born in the Liberation headquarters. That's the other reason he ended up agreeing to let me join...." 

Sandoval was stunned. He'd never even considered any of this - the only real thought he'd given to Liam's birth was wondering when it had been. He'd never really thought about the potential difficulties surrounding the birth of a hybrid child.... 

He was thinking about them now, however. 

He had been imprisoned by the cocoon for about two to three hours - he wasn't entirely clear on exactly how long it had lasted, and his CVI was of no help, for some reason. Boone's funeral - and Liam's first public appearance - had been about forty hours later; which meant that the time between Beckett becoming pregnant with Liam and his growing to physical adulthood couldn't have been more than forty-two hours at most. Beckett could hardly have gone to a hospital - not with a pregnancy as abnormal as hers must have been.... 

Liam was watching him, his expression uncertain. 

"How did that end up happening?" Sandoval asked after a moment's thought. 

Liam carefully put the dice down in the centre of the Monopoly board. "It's... a long story," he replied slowly. 

"We have plenty of time," Sandoval said calmly, in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. 

Liam nodded in agreement, and took a deep breath before letting it out in a sigh. "While you and Boone were hunting for Ha'gel, Mother was working on setting a trap for Lili, to show you that she was a Liberation agent," he started. "She persuaded Agent Lassiter to help her set Lili up. She went to wait outside Lili's office, and then Lassiter called Lili and, as Mother had told him to, congratulated her on the acceptance of her application to become a Companion-Protector. That's what made Mother suspicious in the first place, you know - Lili didn't want to become a Protector, and that didn't mesh with what Mother knew of her personality. 

"Anyway, Lili... kind of panicked when she got Lassiter's call, and left in a hurry to go to Liberation headquarters. Mother followed her, and found the building that hid the headquarters. She looked around, found the scanner that opened the entrance to the headquarters for Liberation members, and then called you. Except instead of you, she got Ha'gel; he'd just taken you as a host." 

Liam paused and worried at his lower lip for a long moment. 

"What is it, Liam?" 

"Ha'gel.... The entire reason Ha'gel was running around Washington, rather than trying to leave Earth or otherwise escape the Taelons, was because he...." Liam paused again, swallowing nervously, and then took another deep breath. "He was being compelled by a biological imperative, as the last of his species, to reproduce. That's what he tried to do with his first host, and the dead woman that Boone found. The problem was, he didn't realize that ordinary humans couldn't handle the energy produced by a Joining, nor could an ordinary woman survive the stresses placed on her system by a part-Kimera fetus. Between the growth rate and the energy required to... ensure the fetus's survival..." Liam looked exceedingly uncomfortable as he said this last. 

_Reasonable enough, considering he's essentially talking about himself,_ Sandoval reflected, keeping his expression neutral. He didn't want Liam to stop telling him what had happened because he was embarrassed. 

"Anyway, after realizing this, he got... rather worried. After all, he had this compulsion to reproduce, but he couldn't Join with an ordinary human without killing them - and one death was already one too many. So he got worried, and started trying to figure out a way that he could ensure the survival of the mother of his child. He was checking on potential sources of energy he could manipulate when the police found him. 

"Then, when he took the police officer as a host, he found out about you and Boone, and the CVIs. The officer didn't know much about them, but he _did_ know that the CVIs let you control the skrills. That let Ha'gel know that they modified human physiology to allow you to handle energy in a way that ordinary humans can't. Between that, and the fact that the skrills made you and Boone a more serious threat to him than the police, he decided that he should take one of you as a host. And since you were supervising the police search at the time, he called you." Liam tilted his head in a shrug. 

"Ha'gel had just finished putting you in the cocoon when Mother called your global. He'd already determined that the CVI provided enough alterations to your physiology that you - and therefore, presumably, any female Protectors - would be able to handle the energy of a Joining. So when Mother called to let you know that she'd found a Liberation hideout, Ha'gel realized that she would make an excellent mate. He told her to wait for him before doing anything, and headed over. 

"By this time, Doors and the Liberation personnel at their headquarters knew that Mother was there, and that she'd found the scanner. They were monitoring her carefully, and were ready to kill her if she discovered the actual entrance to the headquarters. They also called Boone, hoping that he would be able to come up with some plan to handle the situation. 

"Boone got there just as Ha'gel... initiated the Joining. Mother was willing to have a child - she desperately wanted children of her own - and Ha'gel managed to interfere with her motivational imperative enough to ensure that she wouldn't turn either me or herself over to the Taelons. He couldn't destroy it...." Liam bit his lip and looked down at the floor. "He didn't have the chance. Boone and Lili were both watching, and as soon as the Joining ended, Ha'gel saw Boone. He didn't realize that Boone was part of the Liberation - I'm not sure what he might have done if he had - but since he thought that Boone was working for the Taelons, he knew he had to protect Mother... and me. So he attacked Boone. 

"Lili got Mother out of the way of the fight and brought her into the headquarters. I think Ha'gel recognized that she was Liberation, and so let her take Mother, but I don't know for certain.... Doors didn't like that at all, but didn't have much of a chance to object. Then the police showed up, Ha'gel fired at Boone, and the police lieutenant shot Ha'gel." 

Sandoval blinked. "Liberation headquarters was at St. Michael's Church?" he exclaimed, too startled by that revelation to maintain his silence. 

"It _was_ ," Liam replied. "When Doors started the presidential campaign, it was moved." 

That didn't surprise Sandoval all that much. He doubted that Liam would have let him know that much about the former Liberation headquarters if the Resistance had still been there. "So what happened next?" he prompted. 

"Well, Mother was unconscious - her body was able to handle the energy, but it was still a huge shock to her system, not to mention the fact that she was suddenly pregnant. There was a full medical facility in the headquarters - necessary to treat any wounded, of course - and one of the Liberation's doctors happened to be there at the time. They didn't know what Ha'gel had done, so they examined Mother - and found out that she was pregnant with me. 

"The pregnancy lasted nine hours - about one hour for every month of a normal human pregnancy. Doors evacuated the headquarters; no one had any idea what I would be like, or whether or not I'd be dangerous - except Mother, and she was unconscious for most of the time, until just before I was born - and only a few people stayed, including the doctor, Doors, and Lili. 

"Anyway, I spent about three minutes, I think, as an infant, before growing to about four years old. I stayed at that physical age for another hour or so - long enough for the doctor to run some tests, and for me to put together a few puzzles - before reaching my current physical age." 

Sandoval nodded slowly. Only an hour or so spent as a child... it was practically inconceivable. It left him with a great deal to think about, and the feeling that it might be a good idea to change the subject slightly, to one a bit less serious. "So the pictures...." 

That prompted a faint smile from his son. "Are stills from the security cameras. I thought...." He fidgeted slightly. "I thought you might like to have them. You.... While you were in the hospital, you talked to me about pictures, so...." 

Sandoval returned the smile. "I can't take them into work, of course, but they're sitting on my desk in my study at home." He hadn't realized until he'd opened his official present from Liam just how much attention the younger man had paid to what he'd said while he was in the hospital. At the time, he'd been extremely surprised. Now, looking back, he realized that it had been one of the first truly honest conversations he'd had with his son; no wonder Liam had remembered it! 

Then, as he looked up, he caught sight of the clock on the wall. "It's time for me to start making dinner." 

"Not soup!" Liam said vehemently. 

Sandoval fought back a grin. If he started to forget that Liam was - in some ways, at least - still a child, all he would have to do would be to remember the sulking fit Liam had thrown earlier over having soup for lunch. It had been an exceedingly childish reaction to a sensible decision. "Actually, I was thinking that we might have stew," he replied. 

Liam thought for a moment, then nodded. "That sounds okay," he decided. 

"All right, stew it is. We can finish the game after dinner, if you want," Sandoval added as he stood up, gesturing to the Monopoly board. 

"Just remember it's my turn," Liam said, as Sandoval headed for the kitchen. 

"No fear of that," Sandoval tossed over his shoulder, and then focused his attention on getting everything together for the stew. 

  


Liam curled up on the couch, looking at the flames in the fireplace. The fire had gone out during the couple of hours when he'd been feverish, but his father had re-started it again after lunch, saying that staying inside on a rainy day with a fire going was cozy, part of the whole vacation experience. 

He hadn't really meant to go into quite as much detail as he had about the circumstances surrounding his birth. What he'd _really_ meant to do was explain to his father that he was the leader of the Resistance - but they'd gotten sidetracked by Sandoval's curiosity about how he'd joined in the first place. He had intended to mention the fact that he'd been born in the Liberation headquarters, but not everything else.... 

What puzzled him was how much he _had_ been able to tell Sandoval about what had happened. He'd known some of the general facts, of course, but he hadn't remembered the details of Ha'gel's decisions. 

Or rather, he hadn't been able to access those particular memories. And yet, while telling his father about it, he'd just _known_.... 

Turning his hands up so that he could see his palms, he studied the marks of his shaqarava for a long moment. The faint reddish diamond shapes were nearly invisible against the skin of his palm - the only way someone would see them would be if they knew to look - but to him they were obvious. 

He'd spent the first half of his life so far with his shaqarava flaring up at the slightest provocation; the second half thinking that they were completely gone. Finding out otherwise last week had - _Admit it, Liam..._ \- scared him - badly. It meant that he'd been completely wrong when he'd thought that he was becoming more human. 

_All right... so I'm not becoming more human. Fact. I seem to be starting to access genetic memories that I couldn't before - some of them without even realizing I'm doing it. Fact. I had a very nasty fever for a very short time, when I've never had a fever before. Fact. My shaqarava were storing - or perhaps damming up - extra energy, causing pain. Fact. I've started having visions again. Fact._ Liam frowned down at his hands. _I'm healing at a much faster rate than I have before. Fact. The medical scan Dr. Park did on Sunday shows a definite difference from the one done last Wednesday. Fact._

_Okay, Liam - the next question is: what do all these facts add up to?_

* * *

Da'an walked into the small medical lab and glanced around. The human doctor that Agent Sandoval had brought in was at the far end of the room, his attention focused on a monitor. Mit'gai was standing at one of the lab tables, examining something. Walking over to the healer, Da'an waited patiently to be noticed. 

"Da'an," Mit'gai acknowledged, after a minute or two. 

"I apologize for interrupting your work," Da'an said quietly, his gestures adding emphasis to the apology, "but Zo'or informed me that you expect this new drug you are working on to be ready for testing in five days." 

"That is correct," Mit'gai confirmed. 

"How long after that do you anticipate being able to interrogate the prisoner?" Da'an continued, as two Volunteers walked in, pushing a cart with equipment on top. 

"After our tests begin - perhaps five or six days," Mit'gai replied. 

_Meaning that Liam will still be on vacation,_ Da'an reflected. _Good._ "Thank you," he murmured to Mit'gai, and turned to leave. 

"You sound... impatient, Da'an," Mit'gai commented, his own gestures reflecting disapproval as Da'an turned back to face him. 

In response, Da'an made a gesture indicating rightful cause, and calmly replied, "It was my Protector who was threatened. I merely wish to ensure that justice is done as quickly as possible." With that, he left. 

* * *

Liam stood up and started pacing, pausing now and again to look out the window at the forest outside. He always thought better when he was moving around - another trait he'd inherited from Sandoval. 

Only one thing was certain: he was changing. 

_Okay... so is this something that is supposed to happen, something... 'natural' for me? Or has something gone wrong?_ he wondered. _And how am I supposed to know which?_

A sudden crash of thunder startled him out of his thoughts, and Liam jumped in surprise - and then automatically winced as his shoulder protested at the jarring move. Peering out the window, he blinked in surprise at the sheets of rain cascading down. He hadn't realized until just now that the intermittent rain from earlier had become a full-blown storm. 

Sandoval, Liam remembered absently, as he sat back down on the couch and continued to stare outside, had always loved storms. He'd loved the power of the lightning and thunder, the noise of the rain, and - perhaps most importantly - sitting in a warm, cozy room, watching the storm through the windows. 

It was something Liam had never had a chance to do before, and he let it distract him from his worries for a short time. 

It only worked for a few minutes, however. By the time Sandoval came back in, carrying a tray with two bowls of delicious-smelling stew, he was back to worrying about what the changes he was going through would mean, and whether or not they were _supposed_ to happen to him. The greater access he had to Ha'gel's memories didn't include an answer to that - at least, not yet. 

"You look worried," Sandoval commented, frowning slightly as he put the tray down on the table beside the game board. "What's wrong?" 

Liam worried at his lower lip for a moment. _I can't tell him. Not yet, at least. But I've got to tell him something...._

"Liam?" his father prodded. 

_So what should I say? What else could I be worried about, that will still let me tell him the truth - just not this truth?_

Abruptly, the answer occurred to him. He _had_ intended to tell Sandoval about it, after all.... 

"Um... you said that Sister Elizabeth's diary mentioned that I... that I'm a high-ranking member of the Resistance," he offered hesitantly. 

"Yes," Sandoval answered, sitting down on his chair and handing Liam a spoon for the stew. "Eat up," he ordered. 

Liam took one of the bowls from the tray, but didn't start eating yet. "Did it mention... um... _how_ high-ranking I am?" 

  


Sandoval studied his son's face carefully for a moment. He hadn't been fooled by Liam's implication that he'd been worried about discussing his rank in the Resistance - he would have been more nervous about bringing the topic up earlier this afternoon if it was that. However, he had the feeling that the reason Liam had decided to re-direct the conversation was because whatever the real problem was touched on one of those still-forbidden subjects, so he decided to let it go for the moment. 

"No," he replied, in answer to his son's question. "There were no specifics in the diary - just general information. Based on everything I know, I assume that you are - at the very least - the leader of the Washington DC cell." 

He could tell from the confusion on Liam's face that his son still didn't understand why he hadn't turned him over to the Taelons when he'd first found out, but it wasn't time to explain yet. Instead, Sandoval simply raised one eyebrow in inquiry. 

Liam hesitated for another moment, then took a deep breath. "At the least..." he confirmed. "I...." He sighed heavily. "I'm... uh... the leader of the entire Resistance." 

Sandoval blinked, honestly surprised. 

Oh, he'd known that it was a possibility - the knowledge of how many times Liam had interfered with the Taelons' agenda combined with the information in Sister Elizabeth's diary had assured him of that - but he still hadn't really believed it. And he'd believed it even less since he'd found out who Liam really was, knowing Doors' xenophobia. 

"If you don't mind me asking... how did that happen?" Sandoval asked. "After all, you said yourself that Doors doesn't trust you...." 

Liam fidgeted, playing with his spoon. "It.... Let's just say it wasn't Doors' decision to make," he replied carefully. "He wasn't very happy about it, all things considered...." 

"Well, I can understand that," Sandoval said. Then he frowned, looking pointedly at Liam's still-full bowl. "You can eat while we're talking, Liam," he added. 

Liam's expression was somewhat wary, but he obediently took a mouthful of stew. 

"After all," Sandoval continued, before Liam could respond to his statement, "aside from his xenophobia and paranoia, Doors is a control freak." 

The comment caught Liam mid-swallow, and he almost choked trying not to laugh. 

Sandoval let a faint smile cross his own face. "I'm sure you agree with me." 

"Uh, yeah," Liam said, after he managed to get his reaction under control. "But... hearing _you_ , of all people, calling _Doors_ a control freak.... It's more than a little weird. Almost surreal, in fact." 

"Are you insinuating that _I_ am a control freak?" Sandoval demanded in mock-irritation. 

For a moment, as Liam stared at him, wide-eyed, he was afraid he'd gone too far - afraid that Liam didn't realize he was teasing. Less than a second later, however, his son started laughing, and Sandoval's tension eased. 

"Not... insinuating," Liam gasped out between chuckles, " _saying_." 

"Hmph," Sandoval snorted, trying to look offended - but judging from the fact that Liam simply started laughing harder, he didn't think he'd managed to succeed. "I'll have you know that compared to Jonathan Doors, I am a _model_ for the delegation of authority." 

This only seemed to encourage Liam's laughter, and Sandoval silently congratulated himself. Whatever had been bothering Liam before dinner, he appeared to have forgotten about it for the moment, thanks to their conversation. 

Pretending to ignore him, Sandoval returned to eating his own dinner, but he kept a careful eye on his son as Liam slowly regained control, making sure that the bout of laughter hadn't hurt his shoulder. 

"But yes, 'control freak' definitely describes Doors," Liam continued, once he'd got his control back. "And the fact that... I replaced him definitely increased his dislike of me." 

Sandoval nodded in understanding. "Unfortunately, that's simply how Doors is," he agreed. Leaning back in his chair, he put his empty bowl back down on the tray and studied his son surreptitiously. 

_Should I push?_ he wondered. He'd managed to get Liam to relax, thanks to the teasing, and he didn't want to ruin that; however, at the same time, he really wanted - _needed_ \- to know what had been troubling his son earlier. 

_No,_ he decided a moment later. _At least - not about that. On the other hand... I would like to get some of my questions answered...._

While he'd been preparing the stew, Sandoval had found himself thinking about the details Liam had given him about his conception and birth - and he'd run into something that had been puzzling him since Sunday morning, before he'd even figured out that Liam was his son. 

Somehow, Liam seemed to know more than he should... about all sorts of things. Sandoval's taste in food; Beckett's investigation into Lili - which even she hadn't remembered; Ha'gel's thoughts and motivations - when Ha'gel had died before Liam had been born.... It all added up to knowledge that Liam shouldn't have had, things that they hadn't - or couldn't have - told him. 

As Liam put his own bowl down, Sandoval made his decision. 

  


"Shall we continue?" his father asked, gesturing to the Monopoly board. "And yes," he added, "I know it's your turn." 

"All right," Liam agreed, picking the dice up in his left hand and shaking them. Rolling them, he grinned as he moved his piece past 'Go' and held out his hand for the two hundred dollars. 

Sandoval looked amused as he handed the money over and then took his own turn. As he finished moving his piece, however, his expression sobered somewhat. "Liam, I... have some questions I'd like to ask concerning what we were talking about before dinner." 

_Before dinner?_ Liam wondered, surprised. He would have thought most of Sandoval's questions would concern the fact that he was the leader of the Resistance. _I wonder what they're about?_ "Okay," he said out loud. 

"How did you know Sio-- your mother had Agent Lassiter bait her trap for Captain Marquette?" his father asked. "She didn't remember, and Agent Lassiter never filed a report on it." 

Liam blinked, and focused his attention on taking his turn while he tried to work out where Sandoval was going with this, and what his answer should be. 

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to, Liam," his father added. "I'm just wondering how you knew." 

Suddenly realizing he'd been fidgeting, Liam forced himself to sit still and think. 

Lying to Sandoval about himself was an option he'd discarded back when he had first made the decision to work on building a relationship with his father, just after Sandoval had gotten out of the hospital. The _only_ way he and Sandoval would be able to build a real father/son relationship would be for them to trust each other; and that trust could only be developed through complete honesty. He had the feeling his father had made a decision much like it - why else would he have told Liam what he had done to Lili? 

The point was, Liam knew his only real choices were to either not answer the question, or tell the truth. 

_I'm going to have to tell him the truth at some point,_ Liam thought. _Considering how long he's worked for the Taelons, and how much he knows about them in the first place, he might even figure it out himself, sooner or later. It would definitely be better for me to tell him._

Wishing he didn't sound as though he was trying to convince himself, Liam looked back up to meet his father's eyes. Sandoval met his gaze evenly, giving every evidence of patience and willingness to wait; it was strange to see those particular emotions on his face. 

"It's... a bit of a complicated story," Liam said hesitantly. "I mean, I know how Dr. Park explained it to Doors, but I don't know exactly how to explain it from my point of view." 

"Take your time," his father advised. "If I don't understand, I'll let you know." 

Liam nodded slowly, and took a deep breath. "You know that the Taelons have genetic memories, right? They remember everything their parents knew and experienced?" 

"Yes," Sandoval replied. 

Liam took another deep breath. He had no idea how Sandoval would react to finding out that Liam had all his memories, up to the point Ha'gel had taken him as a host. It was, however, too late to change his mind now. "Well, it was - the genetic memories, that is - something they inherited from the Kimera." 

Sandoval met his eyes. "Meaning that you also have genetic memories," he inferred. His tone and expression were both calm, but not his mask, and Liam felt a touch of relief. 

"Yes," he replied. "I can't access them all, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to. I've been able to access the essential ones - the ones that let me function as a Companion-Protector and leader of the Resistance - since shortly after I was born; the others seem to show up at need, or not at all." 

"Well, that would explain how you know my taste in food," his father commented; and Liam blinked in surprise, before remembering his suggestion of souvlaki last Saturday, and the omelette he'd made Sandoval Sunday morning. 

He nodded in agreement. 

"So, you have _all_ our memories?" Sandoval continued. 

"From you and Ha'gel, up to the end of the Joining," Liam replied. "Anything I know from after that," he tilted his head slightly, "has only been through observing you." 

Sandoval nodded, and then gave him a strange look - curiosity mingled with sympathy? "What about your mother?" he asked quietly. 

"I have hers up until...." Liam hesitated. 

"Go on," Sandoval urged him gently. 

"...Up until I was born," Liam finished carefully. Glancing down at his hands, his eyes caught on his shaqarava, and he found himself recalling the day ten months ago when she had died. "And also," he murmured, still staring at his shaqarava and barely aware he was speaking, "what she gave me when I Shared with her, just before--" He broke off, unable to continue. 

"Shared?" Sandoval asked, his voice still quiet and gentle. 

"After I was born, Doors ordered a Liberation doctor to reprogram her CVI so that she wouldn't remember anything - and so that if she _did_ , it would kill her," Liam explained distantly, keeping himself calm through an immense effort of will. This was the first time he'd ever spoken of what the Liberation had done to Beckett with someone who hadn't been there at the time, and he was finding it surprisingly difficult. Almost more difficult than hearing his father tell him what had been done to Lili. He couldn't pull his gaze away from his shaqarava as he continued, "She did recognize me, somehow, as someone she _should_ know - you saw that - but she didn't remember who I was to her, and I couldn't tell her. Not when it would have meant her death. 

"By the time I got to the cave where she was," Liam went on, remembering that awful day again, "her CVI had already done too much damage." He could feel tears starting to build, and swallowed them back. Despite the strides he and Sandoval had made over the past few days, Liam still didn't feel very comfortable with the idea of opening up to him _that_ much. "She said her only regret was that she'd never had any children... so I Shared with her, let her know the truth." 

  


"Good," Sandoval said; his voice was still quiet as he studied his son's face. He could tell that Liam was getting upset - not that it was a surprise, considering the stress of the day and the current topic of conversation - but he wasn't entirely sure how to make it better, or even if he _could_ do so. It didn't help that he also felt upset by the memory of Siobhan's death, and absolutely, utterly _furious_ with Jonathan Doors for what he'd done to both Siobhan and Liam. He was beginning to suspect that Doors was at least one of the people - if not the person - who had made Liam believe that being part-Kimera was something to be ashamed of. 

Just at the moment, however, he was more concerned with helping Liam than in getting upset with Doors, so he focused his attention on his son. 

Liam was staring blankly down at his hands; Sandoval wasn't sure if he even realized he'd been talking out loud. 

_So, how can I help?_ he wondered, an unusual sense of frustration niggling at him. _I want to do something, but we're still working on developing our relationship. I have no idea how to handle this!_

_Think , Ron! If your father were here, what would he do?_

Well, that was easy enough to answer. And perhaps it would be the best way.... 

Standing up, he walked over to the couch and gripped Liam's left arm, gently but firmly at the same time. 

Liam started in surprise and looked up at him; and Sandoval's rage - at both Doors and the Taelons, for what they'd done to Siobhan, and through her to Liam - increased at the gleam of unshed tears in his son's eyes. He pushed it back down, however, and did his best to speak in the gentle tone he'd noticed Liam seemed to respond best to. 

"I know it's not terribly late, Liam," he said carefully, "but you've had a long, very full day, and a stressful one at that. Why don't you head up to bed, and I'll bring you up a cup of green tea? Your grandfather always swore it was the best thing for relaxing after a hard day." _Of course, he probably knows that, since he has my memories,_ Sandoval realized, as Liam's expression went distant for a moment - the same way it had when he'd mentioned the arguments he'd had with his father and the Saturday cooking lessons - _but that doesn't mean that he shouldn't hear it from me anyway._

"'Kay," Liam murmured softly, and let Sandoval help him up. 

"Now, go lie down," Sandoval ordered, giving him a gentle push in the direction of the hall. "I'll be up in about five minutes with your tea." 

Liam nodded in acknowledgement, then walked into the hall and slowly up the stairs as Sandoval headed into the kitchen. 

It was a matter of minutes for him to make the tea - he could have done it in his sleep - and shortly afterwards Sandoval knocked quietly on the door of Liam's room. 

"I'm still awake," came Liam's mumble. 

Pushing the door open, Sandoval walked in and handed one of the two cups he was carrying to Liam, then sat down in the chair next to the bed. 

Liam carefully sniffed the steam rising from the cup, and Sandoval was surprised to see a small smile cross his face. "It smells good," he murmured. 

"I've added a bit of honey," Sandoval explained. "A bit of sweetness never hurts, I've found." 

Liam took a small sip, and the smile widened. "Tastes good too." Then he looked at Sandoval. "We didn't finish the game," he said quietly. 

Sandoval had no idea what that had to do with anything, but it was a fairly safe neutral subject. He shrugged, and replied, "Then we'll just have to finish it tomorrow. And perhaps once I've had some sleep, I can regain some of my losses." 

He got a snicker in response. "I wouldn't count on it - after all, I'll have slept as well," his son pointed out. 

"Indeed. Well, we'll have to wait and see, I suppose. What would you like for breakfast?" 

Liam thought for a moment. "Could we do pancakes again?" 

"Why not?" Sandoval returned. "Sounds good to me." He stood up. "Now, finish your tea and get to sleep - or I really _will_ recoup all my losses." 

"Right," Liam said, his tone snarky - but he obediently took another sip of tea. 

Sandoval stopped in the doorway for a moment and looked back. "Good night, Liam," he said quietly. 

"Li'assa, Va'nei," Liam replied absently; his attention seemed to be focused on his teacup. 

Puzzled at yet another use of the word 'va'nei', not to mention Liam's slip into the Kimera language, Sandoval nonetheless didn't say anything; he simply closed the door quietly and headed off to his own bedroom.


	5. Saturday, Week 1

Augur leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes with one hand. It was 4am, and he'd been working fairly steadily for the past three days on various projects - most of them involving Liam and the Resistance in some form or another. He needed sleep - but even more than that, he really needed to talk to Liam about the results he had been getting.

The first thing that had happened had been a message from Bettis concerning FBI Special Agent Andrew Patterson. It had been waiting for him Wednesday afternoon when he'd got home after his meeting with Renee. The message had essentially said that according to Colonel Kincaid, Patterson posed no threat whatsoever to Operation Dark Knight. 

That had been strange enough - how could Patterson's discovery and hacking of Dark Knight's files be anything _but_ a threat to them? - but what had been even stranger had been the fact that Bettis hadn't provided any explanations. There had been absolutely no reasons given for _why_ Patterson wasn't a threat, and it had Augur completely, utterly flummoxed. It simply made no sense! 

So he'd decided to do a bit more digging into Patterson, and had quickly hit an adamantine wall, one he hadn't been able to get past, though he'd tried for several hours. He'd finally left a probe running, and gone on to some of the other puzzles he needed to investigate. 

The next puzzle had been looking into some of the projects Doors International was running, as Liam had requested in his message, and the results of that investigation were definitely something he had to discuss with the kid. 

So far, he'd found three other projects - aside from the vaile - that had to do directly with Resistance matters, and that he _knew_ Liam hadn't been told about: Project Lambda, Project Illusion, and Project Luna. He'd also discovered that the details of the projects were being moved off the main Doors International server - most likely they were being moved to a secure, isolated server, probably at Renee's instigation. If there were any other projects - which there could quite easily be - they'd already been moved over. 

Then yesterday morning, during his routine scan of the Taelon mothership computers, Augur had discovered that Sandoval had brought in an outside interrogator - a Dr. Bacon - to assist in the interrogation of Lt. Col. McKenna. He'd then researched Bacon, and found out that he was a CIA trained specialist in psychotropic drugs and truth serums. This was the one thing from the past three days he saw no need to tell Liam; the kid really didn't need to know that Sandoval planned to use drugs in the questioning of the man who'd tried to assassinate him. In Augur's opinion, McKenna deserved everything he was about to get. 

He'd debated telling Renee about it, however, and had even gone so far as to call her, only to discover that she wouldn't be available for the next four days. It had - naturally enough, considering what had happened just recently with the vaile - made him suspicious, and he'd only just finished hacking into her personal computer to find out why. 

What he'd found - after all this time spent - was two things. First of all, despite what he'd told her, Renee had gone ahead and tried to investigate Liam's whereabouts. All she'd managed to discover so far, apparently, was that Liam wasn't in Ireland - which Augur had already suspected. He'd never have suggested it if he'd thought Liam was actually there - Liam only went to Ireland to visit his mother's grave. He'd never have gone there on vacation. 

The second thing he'd found out was that Renee was in France for the next few days with Doors and a certain Henri Reynaud, CEO of Exports Bordeaux Limitée and a good friend of Doors'. He wasn't sure exactly what Doors and Renee were up to, but he had the feeling it didn't bode well. 

He really, _really_ needed to talk to Liam. 

* * *

Sandoval opened his eyes and glanced around. According to the small clock on the dresser, it was just after dawn; however, his room was as dark as it had been at midnight. Looking out the window, he saw that the rain was still pouring down. 

_More rain,_ he thought, with a sigh of resignation. Not that he'd intended to go out today; he still wasn't convinced Liam's fever - whatever the original cause had been - hadn't been made worse by his getting soaked. However, he'd been looking forward to going on a hike tomorrow. Unfortunately, after the storms of last night and this morning, it would take at least a day of sunlight for the ground to dry sufficiently. 

He didn't feel like getting up yet; if the past two days were any indication, Liam would sleep in until at least nine, and Sandoval wanted to think a bit more about the revelations from yesterday. 

There were four revelations in particular that he wanted to consider in greater detail. 

The first - and most important in the present political state of things - was Liam's position as leader of the Resistance. 

That revelation - while admittedly somewhat stunning - didn't change Sandoval's plans with regard to inviting Liam to join the elite. In fact, that plan now made even more sense; what better contact with the Resistance than its leader? 

On the other hand, there was also a somewhat greater possibility that he would refuse to actually _join_ , though Sandoval suspected he'd be happy enough to consider the elite as allies. 

Nonetheless, Sandoval knew he would really prefer it if he could convince Liam to join. Even before he'd found out Liam was his son, he'd begun feeling protective of the younger man - _Although that may have been partially due to those dreams,_ he admitted to himself, which were a whole other issue in and of themselves - and that protectiveness had only grown stronger since he'd discovered the truth. If Liam became part of the elite, he would have a great deal more control over what his son did in terms of missions against the Taelons. 

Not that he'd be able to wrap Liam up in a cotton blanket, of course; the simple fact was that Liam's chosen life involved risk, and there was nothing Sandoval could do to completely eliminate those risks, no matter how much he might want to. And even if he could, Liam wouldn't thank him for it. 

No, he couldn't eliminate - or even greatly reduce - the risks Liam faced every day; but if Liam joined the elite, they could provide him with added support and backup. Even that much would help make his son's life both easier and safer. 

He would just, Sandoval decided, have to be extremely persuasive in his efforts to convince Liam to join them. 

The second issue was that of Dr. Park. Sandoval wasn't sure that Liam realized he'd given away the fact that she was in the Resistance - or, at least, _had been_ in the Liberation - when he'd commented that she had been the one to explain to Doors about his inherited memories. Sandoval had already suspected it, of course - partially because of her knowledge of Liam, and partially for other reasons - but that had been the final confirmation. 

Sandoval had no intentions of using that knowledge against her, however. He had simply felt the need to know where he stood with his son's doctor. Once he'd told Liam about the elite - which would hopefully, in turn, make it obvious that he wouldn't punish anyone Liam revealed to him as being a member of the Resistance - he would ask how best to approach Dr. Park as Liam's father, rather than as Companion-Protector Agent Sandoval. 

The third revelation he needed to think about - the most important _personally_ speaking - was that concerning Liam's genetic memories. 

Sandoval couldn't deny that the thought of Liam - either as 'Major Kincaid' _or_ as his son - knowing everything about his life up until Ha'gel made him somewhat uncomfortable; though he'd been careful not to let Liam pick up on that discomfort last night. After all, he was a very private person to begin with, even with respect to his 'external' life; but if Liam had access to his memories, it meant that he also had access to the thoughts within the memories. It was very much a gross violation of privacy - even greater, in some ways, than the violation Ha'gel had committed by taking him as a host to create Liam. 

It was no fault of Liam's, however, and Sandoval knew he would have to keep that in the forefront of his mind. None of it had been Liam's fault; if anyone was to blame for either violation, it was Ha'gel. 

It was also something he was going to have to come to terms with quickly. Liam was very obviously having problems dealing with his Kimera heritage; and any negative reaction from him, Sandoval knew, would only make the entire situation worse - which was exactly the opposite of what he wanted to do. 

_At some point while we're here, I'm going to have to sit Liam down, and we'll have a long talk about the Kimera and what abilities Liam has inherited from them; and another long talk about exactly why he's so ashamed and frightened about that part of his heritage,_ Sandoval decided. _I definitely shouldn't leave it too long... but when will have to depend on what happens._

_As for the issue of Liam's genetic memories.... It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to ask Liam for a bit more information about them... some time when he's fairly relaxed and open. All I know so far is that Liam has my memories, but can't 'access' all of them. I have no idea how that access is accomplished, or which memories he has that access to; nor do I know how he sees them. Better to find out before I decide how I'm going to react in the end. After all, it might not be as bad as I think._

That decision made, Sandoval turned his attention to the last issue he was worrying over from yesterday - Jonathan Doors. 

When Liam had given him the explanation for how Doors knew about him, Sandoval's first reaction had been one of surprise, then of shock. His first thoughts had been about Siobhan, how she'd felt about Liam's birth, and the news that his son's 'childhood' had lasted no longer than an hour. 

Later, after he'd moved past that first, immediate reaction, Sandoval had been surprised to realize that he felt _jealous_ of Doors. The leader of the Liberation had been where _he_ should have; had watched his son being born and been there afterwards, when Liam had changed, grown to physical adulthood. Doors should not have been there; that had been his - Sandoval's - right. 

Added to that, the information about what had been done to Siobhan's CVI and his suspicion that Doors had been at least partially responsible for Liam's problems with his heritage.... 

A sudden hiss - felt more than heard - pulled Sandoval's attention out of his thoughts. For his emotions to be affecting his skrill to that extent, he had to be more angry with Doors than he'd ever been with anyone else, even Da'an or Zo'or. 

_Definitely not the best state of mind to be in while I'm here,_ Sandoval told himself firmly, as he finally got out of bed. Stroking Raven in an effort to calm him, he took out his clothes and started getting dressed. _Liam isn't fragile, per se, but he is somewhat vulnerable at the moment - and he has that regrettable tendency to sometimes react without thinking. Better not to let him know I'm angry at all, rather than allow him to jump to conclusions._

Walking out of his room, Sandoval started for the stairs, only to stop at the door to Liam's room. He could hear something.... 

Pushing the door open, he peered in - and then hurried over to the bed. 

Liam was lying twisted up in his blankets, thrashing around and muttering in what sounded to Sandoval like the bit of Irish Gaelic he'd heard once from Siobhan. He wasn't flushed at all, but he was sweating heavily, and looked as though he was trapped in a nightmare. 

"Liam!" Sandoval called, reaching down to grab his son's uninjured shoulder. 

Something - Sandoval wasn't sure whether it was the sound or the touch - woke Liam up, and he sat bolt upright, then moaned softly, his hand going involuntarily to his right shoulder. 

"Liam? Are you all right?" Sandoval asked anxiously. 

His son blinked in evident confusion, then focused on his face. "Sandoval?" Liam frowned and glanced around, then rubbed his face with his left hand. "I'm sorry - did I wake you up?" 

"No," Sandoval replied, forcing himself to calm down. "I was already awake and just heading down to start mixing the batter for you to make pancakes. I heard something from in here, and came in to see if you were up." He paused for a moment. "It looked as though you were having a rather nasty nightmare, there. Do you want to talk about it?" 

  


Liam hesitated, studying Sandoval's expression carefully. His father was right - it _had_ been a nasty nightmare. 

He'd thought once McKenna was imprisoned on the mothership, this particular dream would have stopped, and certainly the fact that he hadn't had it again - until just now - had supported that hypothesis. He'd thought that without the need to worry about McKenna's next move, or about Sandoval's reaction to his true identity, he'd be free of the nightmares that had plagued him last week. 

Obviously he'd been wrong. 

"Liam?" his father prompted. "Telling someone else about a nightmare often helps chase it away." 

_Not mine,_ Liam thought grimly; but then again, what would be the harm? McKenna was securely imprisoned on the mothership, and very unlikely to get free - so it was doubtful it was a precognitive dream, feeling or not. 

"It... seems simple, I guess," he said slowly, "but it's all the more terrifying because of that. 

"I'm standing somewhere - I don't really know where. McKenna's in front of me, facing me, and behind him is a large, shadowy human figure. There's nothing else, except a feeling of menace - and malice." 

His father frowned thoughtfully. "To be honest, that sounds as though it might simply be a reaction to the stress of last week," he said. "Despite the fact that the past two days have been... somewhat eventful, you've still had more of a chance to relax than you have in a while, and nightmares tend to be part of the process of 'de-stressing'." 

Liam hesitated again. Should he? 

Then, remembering Sandoval's calm reaction to yesterday's revelations, he decided to go ahead. "It's not the first time I've had this dream," he admitted. "It started last Wednesday night, after the first attempt - though I didn't see McKenna's face until we'd identified him." 

Sandoval's thoughtful frown deepened, and then he shrugged. "I don't know what you want me to say," he replied. "I still think it's more de-stressing than anything else. 

"Now," he continued, the frown being replaced with a faint smile, "I am declaring today to be a stress and excitement-free day - except when I win Monopoly, of course. I'm allowed to be excited then. I'll just go down and start getting the batter ready; you follow when you're ready." With that, he turned and headed out of Liam's room. 

Liam watched him leave, then stood up and carefully got dressed. His shoulder was hurting quite a bit again; undoubtedly because of the way he'd jerked awake when his father had called him. Better the sore shoulder than to stay in the dream any longer than he had, however. The pain could be dealt with - by the painkillers Dr. Park had prescribed, if nothing else; the menace in the dream was a different matter altogether. 

As he started to head downstairs, Liam found himself thinking again about his father's reactions yesterday. 

After a good night's sleep - nightmares excepted - he'd found himself a great deal more at ease with his father's calm acceptance of his genetic memories and rapid birth and growth to adulthood. After all, Sandoval had accepted from the beginning that he was part-Kimera. 

What amazed him was the revelation that Sandoval had _known_ he was a member of the Resistance for months, yet had done nothing about it. As far as he'd known at the time, they'd been adversaries; yet Sandoval had never said word one to Zo'or about it. 

He would ask, Liam decided, as he reached the kitchen. Not today - his father was right in saying they needed a day without any further revelations - but perhaps tomorrow, or Monday. 

"Come on in," Sandoval ordered, looking up from the mixing bowl. "What type of pancakes today?" 

Liam thought for a minute, then asked, "Do we have any more blueberries?" as he sat down. 

"Plenty," his father replied. "So blueberry pancakes again today?" 

Liam nodded, a smile crossing his face. 

"Blueberry it is." His father pulled the bowl of blueberries out of the fridge, then dumped a great many into the mixing bowl. "Why don't you put the pan on? Turn the burner to medium heat, then get a bit of butter, and melt it in the pan." 

"Me?" Liam asked, even as he stood up to obey. 

"I _did_ say a few minutes ago that you were going to be making the pancakes this morning," his father pointed out calmly. "I don't want you mixing the batter until your shoulder is better, but the actual cooking of the pancakes is all yours." 

Liam blinked, then his smile widened in delight. His father knew that his shoulder wouldn't be usable at all until after they returned to work, and the implication was that Sandoval intended to continue these impromptu cooking lessons. 

"All right," he murmured out loud. "Burner on to medium, butter in the pan...." 

  


Most of the pancakes - at least, the first several - had been rather unusually shaped - Liam had experienced a bit more trouble getting the batter from the full bowl into the pan than he'd expected, not to mention flipping them; but they all tasted delicious, and Liam felt even prouder of himself than he had yesterday. 

It didn't exactly make that much sense, he knew - after all, they were only pancakes, and he'd cooked things before - but it didn't seem to matter. Maybe it was the fact that his father had commented that they were, "Delicious, and done just right," without Liam having asked. That was most probably it. 

His father pushed away from the table and started moving their plates to the sink, then stopped and frowned at him. "Liam, have you taken your painkillers?" he demanded. 

Liam blinked in surprise. "No," he replied carefully. 

"Get them." 

Liam blinked again, surprised by the order. Yes, his shoulder was hurting, but.... "They make me drowsy," he protested. 

His father's frown deepened. "You're in pain, Liam," he pointed out. "It's quite clear on your face. There's nothing we have to do today aside from relax, so go get the pills." 

Under other circumstances, Liam might have protested further, but as he stood up, his right arm hit the edge of the table, and another flare of pain went through him. With a wince, he nodded obediently, and headed up to get them. 

Once again, Sandoval cleaned up, and after Liam had taken the painkillers, they retired to the living room to light a fire and finish their second game of Monopoly. 

Liam managed to remain in the lead, despite the drowsiness induced by his pills, and after a grueling hour and a half of play, he had won. His father then suggested they have the tie-breaker later in the afternoon - after Liam had a nap. 

"A nap?" Liam repeated, feeling indignant. "I don't need a nap!" 

His protest was made much less effective, however, by the yawn he couldn't avoid in the middle of it. 

His father simply _looked_ at him, and Liam resignedly curled up on the couch. He had no desire to go to sleep, but quickly found his eyelids getting heavy.... 

* * *

Dr. Julianne Belman looked up as her friend slid into the booth opposite her. 

"Good afternoon, Melissa," Belman said, handing her a menu. 

"Thanks," Dr. Melissa Park replied. "Sorry I'm late - got held up waiting for some test results to come in." 

"It's no bother," Belman assured her. "Now, what did you want to talk about?" 

Park glanced around, then fixed her eyes on the menu. "Let's order first, shall we?" 

_Ah, one of those problems,_ Belman realized. 

The bistro they were lunching in was, in fact, a Resistance contact point, and most of its patrons tended to be Resistance members or sympathizers. Today, everyone here was associated with the Resistance - there were certain signals used when there were strangers around, and none of them were currently being displayed. 

Nonetheless, there were still some subjects that the two of them dared not discuss openly even here - one of which, and the most likely topic of concern, was Liam. 

"Sounds like an excellent suggestion to me," Belman agreed out loud, beckoning for their waiter. 

Once they'd placed their orders, they settled in for a bit of idle chit-chat while waiting for their food, discussing mutual colleagues and some of the latest medical advances. 

Being well known here, they tended to get served quickly, so it wasn't much more than five minutes from the time they placed their orders until they were served. 

Belman waited until she was sure their waiter was out of earshot, and then said pointedly, "Well?" 

Park's response was a heavy sigh. "I'm worried about Liam." 

Remembering the 'request' Liam had made concerning the information to be given to Alice Curzon, Belman nodded in agreement. "So am I." 

At that, Park looked shocked. "You haven't even seen his medical report!" she exclaimed. "Have you noticed anything wrong?" 

_Medical report?_ Belman wondered, puzzled. _Is there something wrong with his health, aside from his injuries?_ "I wasn't speaking medically," she explained. "I've been more worried about certain things he's been up to lately." 

"How do you mean?" Park asked. 

Belman quickly told her about the sample from Alice, her results, and Liam's response. 

Park frowned. "I have to admit, Sandoval was acting unusually concerned when Liam was in the hospital last week," she commented. "However, other than that, I saw no sign that he knew - and Liam certainly didn't mention anything to me." 

Belman nodded slowly. "Nonetheless, I suspect Liam is trying to work his way up to telling him. I can't think of any other reason for him to have wanted Alice to know the sample came from a hybrid." 

"I suspect you're right," Park agreed. "Liam has an appointment with me after he comes back from his vacation, before he returns to duty; how about I broach the subject with him then?" 

"Good idea. Now," Belman continued, "what's this about medical concerns?" 

Park sighed again. "I can't figure out what's going on with him. I'm hoping that together we can come up with some sort of answers." Reaching into the bag on the seat next to her, Park pulled out a familiar folder of medical reports labeled 'LBS' and passed it over to her. "Take a look at everything for the past week and a half - from Wednesday onwards." 

As she started in on her smoked salmon, Belman did just that. 

First of all she skimmed through the contents; then she went back and gave several items a closer look. The results of the injury body scans for both Wednesday and Sunday, the records of his injuries, the notation that his shaqarava were back.... 

"His shaqarava are back?" Belman exclaimed, keeping her voice down with an effort. 

Park nodded. "Since just after the first assassination attempt, Liam's shaqarava were becoming itchy and turning a dark red. They kept getting redder and itchier until the explosion in the Embassy on Tuesday. Apparently Liam was actually _in_ Da'an's office when it blew, and it was only the fact that he was able to activate his shaqarava that saved him. He told me Wednesday morning before he left." 

_Hmm...._ "You know, I never really believed that his shaqarava were actually gone in the first place," Belman said thoughtfully. "Dormant, perhaps, but not gone." She pulled out the scans again, and studied them. "Did you do a scan of him last Wednesday before he left?" 

"No - I didn't have a chance, I'm afraid. He was in a bit of a hurry." 

Absently tapping the scan from last Sunday with one finger, Belman asked, "Did he give any details about how his shaqarava started working again?" 

"No. All he said was that he would have died if they hadn't activated," Park replied. "Why?" 

"I was wondering... perhaps this," Belman tapped the scan again, "is indicating a build-up of energy that re-activated his shaqarava when he was threatened. Or there is another possibility; we _have_ been seeing those changes in the last few bi-monthly tests," she added. "Perhaps what we're seeing on this scan is a completed intermediate step in a gradual change." 

"That last is pretty much what I was thinking," her friend concurred. "The question is, what change - and how natural is it for Liam? We don't have any of that information, and at the moment, I'm not entirely certain of the wisdom of asking Da'an if he has more." 

Belman frowned thoughtfully. "All I can suggest is that when Liam gets back, you do another body scan. If it turns out white again, then quite likely the first hypothesis is correct and the blue was the energy to reactivate his shaqarava building up in his body. If it's still blue, then there's something else going on - and I suspect the best bet would be to ask Liam if there's anything about this in Ha'gel's memories. That may be able to answer most of our questions." Putting the scans back in the folder, she returned it to Park. 

"He's _not_ going to like that," Park commented, slipping the folder back into her bag. 

Belman's response was a shrug. "I didn't like being placed on the spot about the blood sample," she countered. "I think we could consider ourselves even at that point." 

"I'll be sure to mention that to him," Park responded with a wicked grin. Then, turning her attention back to her lunch, she continued, "So, how is Peter Richards doing these days?" 

"Oh, he's well enough. Just opened a clinic outside of Roanoke," Belman replied, going along with the change of subject and digging into her own lunch. "Nancy's pregnant again, and they're hoping for a girl this time...." 

* * *

Liam opened his eyes slowly, taking in his surroundings. 

He was still lying on the couch, though his father had evidently found an afghan somewhere and draped it over him. He could hear drops of rain still hitting the windows and the fire crackling in the fireplace over to the right. His father was sitting in the leather chair, reading what looked to be Magician's Gambit, which made Liam smile in amusement. 

"Feeling better?" his father inquired dryly, without looking up from the book. 

"Yeah," Liam admitted, a bit reluctantly. He didn't mention the fact that his shoulder was now itching so fiercely that it felt almost like it had been bitten by a whole swarm of mosquitoes. 

His father's smile was half-smug, half-teasing. "I thought so." He gestured to the table. "I went ahead and made sandwiches for lunch - turkey and Swiss. Why don't you eat, and then feel free to do whatever you want - as long as you stay inside. I was thinking we could play our tie-breaker game during and after dinner, if you don't mind." 

"Sounds fine to me," Liam agreed, hiding a smile of his own. His father hadn't looked up once from the book as he'd said that, and Liam recognized the signs that said Sandoval was completely absorbed in the story. 

Standing up, he stretched, careful of his shoulder as he did so - and headed downstairs to the library. 

He skimmed through the books, and while there were a number that looked interesting, Liam found his attention caught by a group of picture puzzles. He'd never actually done any before; Augur had always said that since he could solve Taelon puzzles in a matter of minutes - if that - he wouldn't be challenged by ordinary human puzzles. 

Still, they looked rather interesting; and even if he _could_ solve them immediately - which he wasn't that sure of, despite Augur's beliefs - he could at least have the fun of putting the picture together, seeing it take shape. 

Picking a 5,000 piece puzzle with what looked to be a picture of Irish countryside, Liam headed back up to the living room. He removed everything except the plate of sandwiches his father had made from the table, then opened the box and carefully dumped the pieces out. They were rather small, which would add to the challenge. 

"Make sure you eat," his father commented mildly, glancing up from his book long enough to give the puzzle a curious look. 

"I will," Liam promised, and was about to start putting the puzzle together when something caught his attention. 

With his CVI, Sandoval could read at about the same speed Liam could when he was concentrating. However, it appeared as though his father hadn't got through more than a few pages during the time it had taken Liam to get the puzzle. 

"Do you mind if I ask you something?" Liam asked a bit hesitantly. "It isn't a big question," he added hastily as his father put the book down to look at him. "It's just something I'm curious about." 

"All right, go ahead," Sandoval replied. His voice was neutral, and Liam understood that to mean that he reserved the right to decide not to answer. 

"I was just wondering why you aren't using your CVI to read." 

Sandoval looked mildly surprised at that, and then shrugged. "For the past little while, I've found that if I'm reading something just for the sake of reading it - as opposed to reports and paperwork, that is - I enjoy it more if I read it at a normal pace." He shrugged again. "They just seem more 'real' that way." 

When Liam thought about it, he found it actually made sense. He'd always read very fast - right from the first - but Sandoval's ability to do so was given to him by the CVI. Before the Taelons had come and he'd been implanted, his father had read at something around the speed most humans considered normal. It seemed quite reasonable, actually, that when Sandoval's MI had failed, and he'd started to read for pleasure again, he'd consciously chosen to do something to make the separation clear. 

"Okay, I think I understand," Liam said out loud. 

"Why were you wondering about that?" Sandoval inquired. 

Liam tilted his head in a shrug. "I just noticed that you hadn't got much farther in the book," he replied. "And since I know how fast the CVI lets you read, I was curious." 

His father nodded in understanding, then picked up his book again. "By the way, if you want or need any help with the puzzle, let me know," he added, before diving right back into the story. 

Liam nodded, picked up a sandwich, and began studying the pieces as he ate. 

He'd been right about the differences between human and Taelon puzzles. Taelon puzzles were three-dimensional, with the pieces already attached; it was a matter of figuring out how they combined to form a specific shape - more like the descendants of the Rubix Cube and related toys than human picture puzzles. The puzzles were two-dimensional (even the '3-D' picture puzzles were really nothing more than two-dimensional puzzles put together at angles to form a three-dimensional shape), and were very much about matching not only _exact_ shape, but colour as well. And with this particular puzzle having so many different shades - which Liam found harder to match than shapes, for some reason - it was bound to be an interesting challenge. 

* * *

Sandoval put down Castle of Wizardry as his CVI informed him it was time to get started on dinner, and looked around the living room. 

Liam was completely absorbed in the puzzle he was working on; it was mostly done, and Sandoval guessed that his son would probably get it finished while he was making dinner. 

The rain had stopped an hour or two ago - he wasn't exactly sure when - and now the sun was shining in the big picture windows. Sandoval was pleased to see it was fairly bright. _If it keeps up like this, some of the trails may be dry by tomorrow afternoon,_ he reflected. It would be nice to get out; as pleasant as the cabin itself was, it could still get rather stifling when you were shut in for two days. 

In fact, Sandoval had to admit, he was surprised Liam hadn't been more agitated. His son tended to be antsy at the best of times, which this was not. 

_Perhaps it's his shoulder,_ Sandoval thought absently as he stood up. _After all, pain can drain the energy right out of you...._

_Or perhaps,_ came another thought, _it's simply that he's not really that antsy - maybe it's a trait only of his 'Major Kincaid' persona._

Liam looked up from the puzzle as he started to walk out of the room, and Sandoval gestured toward the kitchen with one hand. "I'm going to make dinner. If you finish the puzzle before it's prepared, why don't you then set up the Monopoly board? Otherwise, we'll simply wait until you're finished." 

"'Kay," Liam replied absently, his attention returning immediately to the puzzle as he spotted the correct place for another piece. 

Sandoval found himself smiling as he walked into the kitchen. 

  


By the time dinner was made, Liam had indeed finished the puzzle. He'd even set the Monopoly board up on the floor, as opposed to the table, so that the completed puzzle was fully visible. 

Sandoval put the tray down on the floor next to the gameboard and obeyed the rather unsubtle hint. "Very nicely done," he admired the puzzle. Liam smiled in response, obviously proud of himself - another reminder that no matter how old Liam _looked_ , he was still less than two years old. 

"Perhaps if there's a larger one down there," Sandoval continued, "we could do it together at some point?" He loved puzzles of all kinds, always had; it was one of the reasons he'd gone into the FBI. He'd also seen Liam's reaction this morning, when he'd said - if only by implication - that he intended to continue the cooking lessons. 

Just as had happened earlier, Liam brightened visibly at the suggestion. "I saw a couple of 10,000 piece puzzles down there - two or three, I think," he said eagerly, sitting down on one of the cushions he had obviously taken from the couch. 

"Well then, we have something to do later on this week," Sandoval answered, joining his son on the floor. "Now, dinner first, and then we'll play the tie-breaker game." 

Liam dug in, and Sandoval was unsurprised to find that he enjoyed the meal a great deal. Judging from Liam's choices of meals, he appeared to have inherited Sandoval's taste in food wholesale. 

Once dinner was cleared away, they rolled for their turns - Liam got to go first - and started play on the tie-breaker. 

* * *

"Winner and champion!" Liam cheered, as his father landed on Pennsylvania Railroad and had to surrender the last of his funds. 

"Indeed," his father replied, the dry tone marred somewhat by the chuckle which followed. "Consider me in awe of your skills at Monopoly. Is there anything in particular you want to do now?" 

"Actually..." Liam flushed slightly as he yawned. "I hate to admit it, but I'm exhausted. I really think the pills are making me this sleepy." 

Sandoval gave him another _look_. "It's much harder for your body to heal if you're in pain," he said firmly, and Liam winced slightly at the implied scolding. 

"Now, would you like some green tea?" his father continued, standing up and then holding out his hand to help Liam. 

"Yes, please," Liam replied immediately, taking the offered hand. He'd really enjoyed the green tea last night, and it _had_ relaxed him enough to help him sleep. He hadn't known about it before his father had mentioned it - those particular memories were not ones he had access to, for some unknown reason or another - but now that he _did_ know, he thought it would be a good habit to get into. 

"All right - you get up to bed, and I'll be up in a few minutes with the tea." 

Liam obediently headed upstairs to his room and got changed for bed. The itching pain in his shoulder - which had died down once he got started on the puzzle - was back again, and it was in an effort not to dwell on it that he started thinking about something he'd only just noticed this afternoon. 

When he'd first agreed to accompany his father on this vacation, he'd expected there to be a great deal of awkwardness between them. And while there'd been quite a bit Wednesday, on the drive down, and Thursday, after Sandoval had told him about Lili, there hadn't been nearly as much as he expected. And yesterday and today had been almost free of that awkwardness, even with all he'd told his father yesterday. 

Part of the lack of awkwardness _might_ be due to the fact that they both wanted to ensure that this worked; but it couldn't explain everything. It certainly couldn't explain - not to Liam's satisfaction, at least - why Sandoval had been so comfortable sitting around and playing Monopoly with him all yesterday afternoon. 

_Yesterday... perhaps the fever had something to do with it._

Now _that_ would make sense, Liam figured. His father had been very obviously concerned for him - perhaps that had helped cut through the awkwardness they felt. 

Before he could ponder it further, however, a knock came at the bedroom door, and then Sandoval came in carrying a cup of tea. 

"Here you go," he said, handing the cup to Liam. "Green tea with honey." 

"Thanks," Liam replied, taking a sip. It tasted just as soothing and sweet as last night. 

"You're welcome. Good night!" his father added, heading back into the hall. 

"'Night!" Liam called after him, and then resumed sipping his tea and thinking about the ease between the two of them. 

Once it was finished - and he'd reached no new conclusions - he put the cup on the bedside table and curled up under the covers. Despite the fact that he was tired, Liam didn't really expect to go to sleep for a while. However, almost the very minute his head touched the pillow, he felt darkness pulling him down into its depths. 

The last thing he knew before consciousness fled was the feeling of a lance of fire piercing his wounded shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I really _am_ that evil.


	6. Sunday AM the First, Week 1

Liam opened his eyes and blinked at the sunlight pouring in through his window. Judging from its brightness, it looked as though it was going to be a beautiful day today.

Pushing back his bedcovers, he sat up and stretched - and it was only as he brought his arms back down that he remembered both the feeling that had followed him into sleep last night, and the fact that he shouldn't have been able to do what he'd just done without a great deal of pain. 

Carefully pulling the collar of his shirt away from his shoulder, he checked the place the bullet had impacted. 

All that was left was a small round scar. 

He then tried gently moving his shoulder - both up and down and forwards and back - and felt not even the slightest twinge. And it wasn't that the area was numb; he could feel his fingers when he pressed carefully against the scar, but there was no pain. Both soft tissue and bone had just healed overnight. 

Liam felt almost like screaming; he buried his face in his hands in an effort to stave it off. Why was this happening to him - and why _now_ , of all times?! Didn't he have enough on his plate already? 

Admittedly, if he'd been anyone else, Liam suspected he'd have been delighted about the sudden rapid healing, and the fact that he _wouldn't_ have to spend another few weeks in a sling. As it was, however, all this seemed to be doing was increasing his differences from humanity. 

The gash on his arm from the crossbow bolt hadn't been serious - most of the problem had been blood loss and the fact that it had aggravated the damage to his shoulder even further... so he'd been able to finally decide it was mostly a simple increase in his ability to heal quickly. His shoulder, on the other hand... there had been a great deal more damage done to it, and it should have taken at least a few more weeks of healing, _even_ at his usual rapid pace, before it could be used again. 

Not to mention this was going to cause untold problems with the Taelons if they got wind of it.... 

_As long as I'm careful, they shouldn't,_ he told himself firmly a minute later. _I'll just have to get Dr. Park's help and wear a sling around them for a short while. After all I've kept bigger secrets than rapid healing for a longer period of time...._

_Besides,_ he added to himself, as he heard movement downstairs, _Sandoval won't be after me any more; he'll be helping me! Between the two of us, we should be able to deal with anything the Taelons dish out about this._

Of course, he still had to _show_ his father what had happened.... 

Quickly getting dressed - delight at the lack of pain and ease of movement he had again making him feel somewhat better about this latest change - he headed down to the kitchen where his father was frying bacon and eggs. "'Morning," he said, sitting down at the kitchen table. 

His father glanced over at him. "Good morn-- Liam, where's your sling?" 

Liam took a deep breath and let it out in a heavy sigh. "Well, that's the thing... you remember what happened to the gash in my arm from the crossbow bolt?" 

"Of course.... So your shoulder is healed now as well?" Sandoval said, turning back to the stove just in time to rescue the egg that was currently in the pan. 

"Yes," Liam replied. He fidgeted in his seat for a moment, debating with himself... but at this point, a new perspective would probably be just the thing he needed. On some of his problems, at least - he still didn't want to mention his fear of the changes he was going through. "It was itching yesterday afternoon and evening... and then just before I fell asleep it felt like a burning spear was being driven through it - but I couldn't wake up from it." 

"Has anything like this ever happened before?" was his father's next question. 

Liam shook his head - again pleased he could do it without pain. "I guess..." he murmured after a moment, thinking back over the past week and a half, "the closest it comes to - in terms of the sensation - was what was happening to my shaqarava last week." 

  


"And what was that?" Sandoval prompted, as he cracked the last egg into the frying pan; and listened, as Liam told him about his shaqarava. 

_How the first time Liam had used them been to destroy the Jaridian replicant underneath the Embassy...._

"I always wondered about that," Sandoval muttered quietly as he flipped the egg. 

_...How the only times he'd been able to consciously control them had been his suicide attempt when he thought he was being driven mad...._

Sandoval went pale at that, remembering his role in that particular plot, and focused his gaze on the oven as he took out the heated plates and food, not wanting to meet his son's eyes. 

_...And the time in Maiya's dimension to show the alternate Da'an what their world was like...._

"That's one story I _definitely_ expect you to tell me," Sandoval said, putting the plates down on the table and handing Liam a fork and knife, indicating he was to serve himself. 

"Only if you promise not to kill Doors because of it next time we see him," his son countered, piling two eggs, three pieces of toast, and several slices of both bacon and tomato on his plate - and then refused to explain why he should promise, instead returning to his narrative about his shaqarava. 

_...How he'd thought they had disappeared after something that had happened last October...._

_Involving the Jaridian probe and Operation Dark Knight's base at Mount Weather?_ Sandoval wondered, but didn't ask out loud. 

_...How when he'd woken up on Thursday morning a week and a half ago, just after the first assassination attempt, they'd been itching, though he hadn't consciously noticed it at the time...._

_...How last Saturday, when Sandoval had pointed out that he was scratching his palms, he'd looked and seen that his shaqarava were a very dark red...._

"Is that why you were wearing those gloves?" Sandoval asked at that. 

His son nodded. "When I say 'dark red', I mean just a bit lighter than that." He pointed at a well-done piece of bacon. "They would have been very, very noticeable." 

_...How when the bomb in his desk had exploded, Liam had known there wasn't time to escape, and so he'd reacted on instinct, raising his hands to use his shaqarava defensively; and how suddenly he'd felt as though a burning spear was going through them, and a moment later they'd activated...._

"And saved both our lives, while startling the hell out of me," Sandoval said. When Liam gave him a half-startled, half-curious look, he added, "I just didn't expect it, that's all. I knew you undoubtedly had shaqarava, of course," he decided not to mention the dreams, "but I really hadn't expected you to demonstrate that fact in such an... unequivocal fashion." 

_...And how after Lt. Cress and Sgt. Ramsey had left him in Sandoval's office in the Embassy, Liam had activated his shaqarava again - consciously, this time._

"Of course, if I'd been thinking, I never would have done that," his son finished off. "I was already tired enough from the drain caused by defending us against the bomb; and at that point, I didn't realize you knew who I was, and you could have walked in at any time." 

"Quite true," Sandoval agreed, frowning. That was another thing he was going to have to discuss with Liam - preferably before this vacation was over - his dangerous tendency toward recklessness. At least now that he knew how old Liam really was, he understood the recklessness somewhat better - he'd never really understood how a thirty year old veteran of the S.I. War could be so careless. "So, your shaqarava felt the same way just before you used them at the Embassy as your shoulder did last night?" 

"Pretty much, yes," Liam replied. 

"And you've never had anything else like this happen to you before?" Sandoval continued. 

Liam shook his head. "Never. I mean... I've always been quick to heal, but not like _this_. The estimates Dr. Park gave for how long the healing would take were based on my regular rate of healing." 

Sandoval's frown deepened as he studied his son. Liam was... nervous, he decided after a minute's observation. _Or scared,_ came the sudden thought. He looked much as he had during their discussion on the mothership Wednesday morning, before Sandoval had managed to reassure Liam that he did indeed want a father/son relationship. 

_So, the question is - is he more scared of the potential Taelon reactions, or is this another part of the issue surrounding his Kimera heritage?_

"Well, it should be easy enough to conceal from the Taelons, assuming you're careful," Sandoval said out loud, his tone purposefully casual. "Continue to wear a sling and don't use your right arm anywhere you can be observed by other people, and you should be fine." 

"I know," Liam replied quietly, looking down at his plate. He'd finished about half its contents, Sandoval estimated, over the course of telling his story. "It's just...." He started fidgeting again. 

_So it's not the Taelons worrying him,_ Sandoval translated that to mean. He thought for a long moment. _Is it time to start pushing a bit? He's already told me - trusted me with - a great deal... a surprising amount, in fact, considering that it's only Sunday, and I've only know who he really is for the past week. Can I risk that by pushing him?_

Continuing to study his son, Sandoval took in the hints of fear that were still visible on Liam's face, and made his decision. _I don't think I have that much of a choice. He's scared of something, and until I find out what it is, I can't help him. And I need to help him with this before we have to go back. If he's still worrying over something after we return, he's much more likely to get careless - and I will not lose my son the same way I lost DeeDee and Siobhan._

"What's wrong, Liam?" 

Liam looked vaguely surprised, and then shrugged. "Nothing..." he muttered. 

_And the one-year-old makes his appearance again...._ "Something _is_ wrong, Liam. You look..." Sandoval hesitated for a moment, trying to think of a better work to use than 'scared', "...upset. Why?" 

Liam continued to fidget, moving his fork aimlessly around his plate, mixing egg and bits of bacon. "I.... It's.... It isn't anything important." 

Sandoval leaned back in his chair and pushed his own - empty - plate away. "If it has you upset, then it's important," he replied firmly. 

Liam's fidgeting was growing worse. Abruptly, he pushed his chair back from the table, stood up, and started pacing between the table and the door to the hall. "It's not important," he repeated tensely. 

_Was it a mistake to broach this now?_ Sandoval wondered, as he watched his son move back and forth. _Should I have waited until later?_ Not that he could back away from the situation now - that would only cause more damage. He needed to make it clear to his son that Liam could tell him _anything_. 

"Look at you, Liam," he said, keeping his tone firm but making his voice somewhat quieter. He'd already discovered Thursday and Friday that speaking quietly and gently got the best response from Liam - it seemed to reassure him somehow - and while Sandoval felt the current situation called for firmness, he didn't want to upset his son any further. "The fact that you're upset is obvious, which means that it is not _unimportant_ \- at least, it isn't to you, which means that it isn't to me either." 

Liam froze at that, staring wide-eyed at him. 

Sandoval ignored his reaction for the moment, although he made a mental note of it. "So I would like to know what is wrong." He paused, eyeing his son thoughtfully, and then added - purposefully increasing the pressure, a tactic that always served him well in interrogations, though he hated having to use it against his son, "Why is the fact that your shoulder healed scaring you so much?" 

It worked, much as it did when used in interrogation sessions - except this time, he had merely taken advantage of the pressure Liam had been putting on himself. 

"Because it means I'm still changing!" Liam shouted. 

_'Still changing'?_ Sandoval wondered, as he stood up and walked over to where Liam was standing by the door, looking dazed by his own outburst. _Does this have anything to do with the changing he mentioned when he was feverish?_

"How are you 'still changing', Liam?" he asked gently, carefully gripping his son's arm and steering him back to the table. "Here - sit down and talk to me... please. What do you mean?" 

  


Liam obediently sat down, feeling dazed and numb. He hadn't meant to blurt that out, but his father had pushed and it had just... come out, seemingly on its own. 

"Liam?" his father prompted again. 

"I... I thought I had lost my shaqarava," he said blankly. "They were gone, and... and the memories were more distant, harder to access...." Liam paused for a long moment, keeping his gaze fixed on the grain of the table. There was a darker swirl of wood in one corner - where a branch had grown, Liam suspected.... 

"Go on, Liam," his father said, in that oddly gentle tone of voice that Liam found himself responding to instinctively. 

"I.... I thought.... I...." 

"What, Liam? What did you think?" 

"I thought I was becoming more human!" Again, it came bursting out, independent of his desire not to reveal it. "I thought I was finally getting a chance to be _normal_!" 

Liam winced at the raw sound of his voice, not daring to look up at his father - not after that outburst. 

They sat in silence for several long minutes, and then Sandoval sighed. "Liam... why would you want to be 'more human'?" he asked. 

That startled Liam - enough that his head jerked up and he stared at his father in shock. "What?" 

"Why would you want to be 'more human'?" his father repeated. "Is there something wrong with being part-Kimera?" 

"N-no..." Liam said slowly, feeling suddenly uncertain. During most of their conversations over the past few days, he'd been able to guess at where his father was going with his lines of questioning... but not this time. This time, he couldn't tell what the point was. 

"So if there's nothing wrong with being part-Kimera, I'm not sure I understand what the problem is," his father said, looking rather bewildered. It was an expression Liam didn't think he'd ever seen on Sandoval's face before. 

"Liam?" his father prompted. "Explain it to me?" 

"I just want to be _normal_!" he repeated. He wasn't sure why Sandoval had been so determined to get him to talk about it, but now that he'd started, Liam found he couldn't seem to stop. All the frustration he'd felt his entire life about who and what he was felt like a huge weight on his chest, and he wanted it off. Now. 

Sandoval studied him carefully for a long moment, and then asked, "What is 'normal'?" 

"Huh?" It was Liam's turn to be confused. What was his father talking about? 

"'Normal' is a matter of perception," his father said calmly. "Everyone I've ever met has had a somewhat different definition of what's normal. So what is yours?" 

Liam blinked, the built-up frustration and anger he was feeling momentarily derailed by the question. He'd never really considered that before.... 

His father waited patiently for several minutes while Liam considered the matter. As he thought about it, the frustration came surging back, and he stood up again and returned to pacing. The words seemed to come easier when he was moving around. 

"Normal is having a childhood that lasts years rather than hours," Liam began. He was distantly aware that his voice was tight with frustration, and his footsteps seemed to pound out a rhythm in time with his words. "Normal is not being able to shoot blasts of energy from your hands. Normal is having two parents, not three, both of whom know who you are from the moment you're born. Normal is not having your parents' memories showing you how to behave. Normal is not having to lead a double life from the time you're two days old. Normal is--" 

Liam managed to catch himself before he finished his last sentence with the way he really felt. There were some things that he really _didn't_ want to share with Sandoval - with anyone, for that matter - and _that_ was right at the top of the list. "Normal is being human." 

His father frowned - a thoughtful expression, rather than an upset one. "And what is 'normal' for Kimera?" he asked. 

"I don't know," Liam replied quietly, dropping back down into his chair. The impetus to pace had vanished with his last statement, and he found himself feeling confused and uncertain. 

Sandoval eyed him carefully. "I thought you said... you had our memories?" 

Liam hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Yes, but...." He bit at his lower lip. "I don't really... I can't really access Ha'gel's memories," he said slowly. "Not well. I've always had more trouble with Ha'gel's than with yours, and more trouble with yours than with Mother's." 

"But on Friday you were able to tell me - in detail - about what happened to Ha'gel from the time he was released from the lifepod," his father pointed out. 

Liam sighed softly. "I-- It's--" He took a deep breath. "I told you... I'm changing. I've never been able to access them so clearly before." He wrapped his arms around his torso, tightening them unconsciously. "I knew... the _gist_ of what he was doing and thinking - just like I knew the gists of your life, and Mother's - but only in a very vague, distant fashion. Even now...." He shook his head, biting his lip again. "There's just so much I don't know...." 

  


Sandoval studied his son carefully. Liam's moods and reactions were flipping back and forth so rapidly that he wasn't entirely certain that continuing this line of questioning was a wise idea. Nonetheless, he couldn't just leave Liam hanging like this. 

"How do you... 'access' the memories?" he asked after a moment's thought about the direction he wanted to take this conversation. 

The request seemed to distract Liam; he blinked and looked at Sandoval in confusion. "What do you mean?" 

"You've been talking about 'accessing' our memories - how do you do that?" Sandoval elaborated. "Is it a matter of consciously recalling a memory, or do they suddenly pop up when prompted by something?" 

Liam blinked again, still looking confused. "They're just... there," he answered slowly. "There... if there's something I need to know, and the memory is available, it's just... there...." He paused. "Sometimes something prompts it - like on the archive ship, or when I saw the flash off the scope of McKenna's rifle at the Seattle Children's Hospital, or when you mentioned your mother cooking with you on Saturdays - but most of the time... it's just _there_." 

_Archive ship?_ Sandoval wondered curiously - then pushed that curiosity away for the moment. He could ask later. Right now, Liam's tone was starting to get frustrated again - presumably at his inability to explain precisely what he meant - and Sandoval figured that he had best continue before it got the better of him. 

"So, you've never consciously made an effort to find a memory?" he prompted. 

His son stared blankly at him for a moment, and then slowly shook his head. "No...." 

"Well, then, I think it's time you tried," Sandoval said decisively. He sat back down in his chair and pointed his fork at Liam's plate. "Finish your breakfast first, and then we'll see what we can do about answering some of your questions about Ha'gel." _And the Kimera._


End file.
